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How to write your IA evaluation

 TRAVIS DIXON /  APRIL 19, 2021 /
 INTERNAL ASSESSMENT (IB) (HTTPS://WWW.THEMANTIC-EDUCATION.COM/IBPSYCH/CATEGORY/INTERNAL-ASSESSME
 2 COMMENTS (HTTPS://WWW.THEMANTIC-EDUCATION.COM/IBPSYCH/2021/04/19/HOW-TO-WRITE-YOUR-IA-EVALUA

The Evaluation for IB Psych IA is the toughest section to write.

Hopefully this post will help.

+5
If you miss one important detail you could lose marks. Read carefully so
you can score 6/6 in the IA Evaluation.

Of the four sections in the IA (Introduction, Exploration, Analysis and

Evaluation), the Evaluation is the hardest to write. Fewer students score in
the top mark band (5-6 out of 6) for this than any other section. In fact, I’d
guess about 1% score 6/6. Why? There are 5 things you must do and most
students skip one or more of these.

Learn More:

Watch: The Top 5 Mistakes in IA Evaluations

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a-EozH6cKQ)
Read: Over 2200 words? 5 tips to help (https://www.themantic-
education.com/ibpsych/2020/09/25/over-2200-words-5-tips-to-help/)

Evaluation Checklist
1. Clearly summarize your results.
2. Discuss your findings in relation to a background theory or model. 
3. Explain strengths of: design AND sample AND procedures.
4. Explain limitations of: design AND sample AND procedures.
5. Suggest modifications that are based on your limitations.
 Linking your results to the original study is not needed, however most
students do this. It’s acceptable and might even help you make sense
of your own results.

#1. Summarize Results

Write a brief summary of the results you’ve
just written about in the Analysis. This Bobo doll

includes the descriptive and inferential

statistics and the final conclusions you draw
regarding your hypothesis. Low specific
weight
Centre of mass

High specific
Tip: You’re studying some kind of an effect, weight

most probably an effect of some variable on a

cognitive process. Make it clear in your summary what your results suggest
about this effect.

Example:  Imagine I was studying the effects of observing an violent/passive

model on aggression. I would need to make it clear if my results showed how
the different type of model increased or decreased aggression based on
differences in the results and whether or not these results were statistically
significant. You can also link to your hypothesis.

I am going to use hypothetical IA results based on the Bobo Doll study

because this would not be acceptable for the IB Psych IA. This is
deliberate because it means you’ll have to think about your own IA for
yourself. I did the same for the example IA included in the IA Teacher
Support Resources (https://store.themantic-
education.com/collections/support-packs/products/ib-psychology-
teacher-support-pack-internal-assessment).

#2: Link to theory/model

You can do this in two ways.
(1) Explain how your results support or contradict the theory/model. For
instance, if I found that kids who watched an adult play nicely with a Bobo
doll had fewer aggressive actions than the experimental group, I could
explain how this result challenges social cognitive theory’s central claim that
kids’ behaviour can be influenced through observational learning. I might
even go further and give possible reasons why the results are inconsistent
with the theory based on temporal validity: kids’ behaviour might be
different now since they’re more exposed to media compared to when
Bandura proposed his theory.

Do not use the word “prove” in your study. Here’s why

(https://www.themantic-education.com/ibpsych/2017/05/08/why-we-
rarely-if-ever-use-the-word-prove-in-psychology/)!

(2) Use the theory to explain your results. For example, I could use the
triadic reciprocal causation aspect of SCT to explain my results that
contradict the claim of observational learning. Kids are more exposed to
media now than when Bandura proposed the theory. This environmental
factor could have desensitized children to media violence, thus not having
the same effect on their behaviour. This is consistent with the TRD aspect of
SCT.

Tip: If your results are not significant or contradict the background theory
or model, it might be difficult to explain a detailed limitation. One possible
solution is to explain why the results might not support the theory and/or
look for another theory that might explain your results. However, I only
recommend doing this if you’ve got time after doing the rest of the
Evaluation.

Read More: How to link your results to the background

theory/model. (https://www.themantic-
education.com/ibpsych/2020/10/09/how-to-avoid-the-biggest-
mistake-in-ias/)
 #3: Strengths
The biggest mistake students make
is they don’t include strengths of
all three: design, sample and
procedure.

Design: independent samples,
repeated measures or matched
pairs. Experimental is not a
design.
Sample: sampling technique or
The IA Teacher Support Pack
characteristics of your sample. (https://store.themantic-
It does not refer to sample size. education.com/collections/support-
packs/products/ib-psychology-
Procedure: any of the
teacher-support-pack-internal-
following: materials, controlled assessment) comes with an IA
variables, operational template for students to use.

definitions, other procedures.

Try to write at least two sentences for each aspect. (1) Identify the specific
aspect you’re evaluating and (2) give a reason why it was a strength. The
best explanations are those that focus on validity, not practicality or
ethicality.

Example: In my fictional Bobo doll study I might say that the strength of my
independent samples design was that it controlled for order effects. If kids
watched both adults the learning from one condition might influence their
behaviour in another.

#4: Limitations
You must also explain limitations of the design and sample and procedure.
Many students focus on superficial explanations like small sample sizes and
unclear instructions. These are unlikely to score well. Focus instead of
careful analysis of each aspect.
Tips:

Design: Identify a
specific confounding
variable that might
have occurred (e.g.
participant variability,
practice effects, order
effects, etc.) A matched
pairs of often a good Evaluations based on practicality are
vague and score low marks. For
suggestion.
instance, many students say strengths
Sample: It’s difficult (I of their procedures were that it was
think) to write a good “easy” or “fast” and the materials were
“effective.” Focus on VALIDITY by
evaluation of your explaining the possible effects of
sampling technique extraneous variables on youry study
(limitations) and how you effectively
that isn’t vague and
controlled for these (strengths).
generalized. I
recommend focusing
on characteristics of your sample.
Example: My Bobo study used participants in high school. This is a
limitation because by adolescence many behaviours and attitudes
are already formed because teenagers gain independence. This
means the effects of models on observational learning might not be
generalized to younger populations like middle or elementary school
kids.
Procedure: Were there differences between your two conditions that
weren’t based on your IV? (or sample). This is what you should explain
here. Very few students focus on the materials they used. I think they
miss out on the potential to provide some insightful critical thinking.
Other possible evaluations include extraneous variables (e.g. time of
day).
Example: In my Bobo doll study one material we used was an
inflatable clown doll because this is what they used in the original
experiment. However, our participants were teenagers and it’s
unlikely that they would want to play with an inflatable doll. This
 could explain why they weren’t as likely to copy the behaviour as in
the original experiment. A suggested modification is…

#5: Modifications
You must suggest ways in which this study could be modified for the future
to improve upon the limitations you’ve explained.

Tip: I recommend writing one modification based on each of your

limitations. This makes it clear how your modifications are linked and fully
justified.

Example (continued from #4): A suggested modification is…to have the

model demonstrating violent or passive behaviour in a way that’s more
relatable to teenagers. For example, the model could be playing a video
game with a friend and acting friendly or aggressively towards their co-
player.

Some students think “modifications” means how they modified their study
from the original. This is not what you should do.

Small sample size? This is not a relevant limitation to talk about. Why

not? Because all IAs have the same limitation and so it doesn’t show
your ability to critically evaluate your methodology. Focus instead on
the limitations of the sampling technique and/or the characteristics of
the participants in your sample.

Success in the IA is easy: Do the work! Most students miss easy marks
simply because they didn’t pay attention. If you’ve read this far in the post,
you’re on the right track.

Dear Teachers (and fellow Examiners): If you disagree with any of my advice
and/or have further suggestions, I’d love to hear them in the comments.
 Travis Dixon (https://www.themantic-
education.com/ibpsych/author/tdixon/)
Travis Dixon is an IB Psychology teacher, author, workshop leader,
examiner and IA moderator.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT (IB) (HTTPS://WWW.THEMANTIC-EDUCATION.COM/IBPSYCH/CATEGORY/INTERNAL-ASSESSMENT-

IB/)

Comments
2

naya
NOVEMBER 2, 2021 AT 6:45 PM (HTTPS://WWW.THEMANTIC-
EDUCATION.COM/IBPSYCH/2021/04/19/HOW-TO-WRITE-YOUR-IA-
EVALUATION/#COMMENT-12480)

im a student n i just wanna say i love u n thank u

+9

Reply 

Elsie
NOVEMBER 14, 2021 AT 9:57 AM (HTTPS://WWW.THEMANTIC-
EDUCATION.COM/IBPSYCH/2021/04/19/HOW-TO-WRITE-YOUR-IA-
EVALUATION/#COMMENT-12597)

i love you so much thank you, you are saving my butt

+4

Reply 

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