Roadmap to Success:
IBDP Business IA Tips
“Analyze your primary data by applying several business tools you have learnt (using quantitative tools will produce clearer results). Almost everyone uses SWOT – be different!”
Written by: Jerry GrzegorzekIBDP Business Management Teacher & IB Examiner & EE Supervisor and Cambridge IGCSE & AS & A2 Business Studies Teacher
Navigate the IB Business IA Tips page easily by clicking the section icons below.
Choosing the business
Choosing the question
Type of research
Research Proposal & Action Plan
Main results and findings
Analysis and evaluation
Presentation
Pay attention to the assessment criteria
Internal Assessment is compulsory for both SL and HL students enabling you to demonstrate the application of skills and knowledge, and to pursue personal interests in business management. The IA requirements for SL and HL students are different.The SL IA is a written commentary and the HL IA is a research project.
To produce IA, you need to choose, know, and analyze the business.
Marking
IAs are marked by school teachers and externally moderated by the IB. Examiners moderate IAs using the best-fit model and spend around 10-15 minutes on marking one IA, usually reading it only once. Different assessment criteria are provided for SL and HL students.
Weightage
The total number of marks for IA is 25 marks, for both SL and HL, and IAs contribute 25% to the final grade. Therefore, without a good IA, it barely possible to score a 6 or 7 in DP Business Management.
SL students should spend around 15 hours while HL students should spend around 30 hours on their IAs. SL students need around 20-25 marks to get a 7, and around 10-12 marks to get a 4, while HL students need around 18-25 marks to get a 7, and around 10-12 marks to get a 4.
Important: Visit the official IBO page for the most updated requirements of this curriculum.
Click this page for our IB Business Management Exam Guide.
IB Business IA Tips: Standard Level (SL)
It is a written commentary on a real business issue/problem faced by a real organization in the past. It is based on 3-5 supporting documents which are secondary sources. These must be printed out and attached to the commentary at the end.
Choosing the business
Choose a multi-national public limited company as plenty of secondary sources are available in English.
Choosing the question
This must be phrased as a question and focused on an actual company.
Good questions:
- Is Tesla’s decision to increase productive capacity by building a new manufacturing plant in Shanghai a sound financial decision?
- Is including a product line for male customers a profitable decision for Prada?
Type of research
Must be secondary research (90-100%), but can be supported by some primary research (0%-10%).
Supporting documents
There must be 3-5 supporting documents which are relevant to the issue/problem being examined and, these should be contemporary in nature - written within the last 2 years. Different types of secondary sources are recommended, e.g. financial statements, newspaper articles, online reports, etc. These documents must cover a range of ideas and views. The relevant parts chosen and used in the body must be highlighted.
Business tools, techniques, theories
Apply several business tools to write your commentary. They must be relevant to the question – the IA about marketing should not use theories related to employee motivation or lean production.
Use, analysis and evaluation of data
Business tools should be used to analyze source material from supporting documents to answer the question. Evaluation should involve questioning the evidence you have used in your commentary. Judgements about the importance of arguments should be made with all judgments substantiated. The nature of supporting documents should be considered and the reasons why the problem or issue exists should be critically discussed. Commentary should lead to a judgment in conclusions. Conclusions should be a logical extension of the arguments from the body. Conclusions must be relevant, supported by data from the supporting documents and specifically answer the title question at the beginning.
The commentary must follow a logical structure:
- identifying the issue or problem
- balanced analysis of strengths and weaknesses
- the final conclusion
Presentation
The written commentary must be within the word limit 1,500 words, and the word count should be provided on the first page. The commentary must be focused on the issue or problem identified. Subject-specific terminology must be used throughout the commentary. Bibliography must be provided including sources for all supporting documents and for any quotations used. The referencing must be consistent throughout.
Pay attention to the assessment criteria
Criterion A-G discussed below:
SL IA Criteria:
- Criterion A:
3-5 supporting documents must be relevant to the tile, sufficient to answer the question and provide a range of ideas from different stakeholders.
- Criterion B:
See above about business tools.
- Criterion C:
Focus on analysing supporting documents. What is written in other sources should only complement your commentary – IA SL is not a literature review.
- Criterion D:
Conclusions should include recommendations.
- Criterion E:
Evaluation should include limitations.
- Criterion F:
Structure of ideas rather than structure of the document itself – ‘Is your language clear?’, ‘Can the examiner easily understand your ideas?’
- Criterion G:
No elements should be missing! Follow the structure:
(1) Title page
(2) Contents page
(3) Introduction
(4) Findings
(5) Analysis and discussion
(6) Conclusions
(7) Bibliography and references
IB Business IA Tips: Higher Level (HL)
It is a research project addressing an issue faced by an organization or a decision to be made in the future. It is mainly based on primary research gathered from the organization investigated. Business tools, theories and concepts should be used to analyse and evaluate, leading to recommendations that will help address the research question. This report must be of practical use to management. HL IA must start with a 500-words Research Proposal & Action Plan that serves planning purposes.
Choosing the business
Choose a sole trader, partnership or private limited company close to where you live as doing multiple rounds of primary market research with managers and/or customers is usually necessary. Schools should not be chosen unless very desperate.
Choosing the question
Must be forward looking (solving a current business issue/problem) and enables recommendations to management to be made about how to improve/fix that issue/problem. Unlike EE, IA HL must be focused on an actual company, not on a single syllabus topic.
Good questions:
- Should Tasty Bites Bakery purchase a new delivery truck to cater for customers in the city center?
- Should Shiny Jewelry stop outsourcing production of gold ornaments in order to increase its profit margins?
Type of research
Must be primary research (80-100%), and can be strengthen by secondary research (0%-20%).
Research Proposal & Action Plan
Should have maximum 500 words. The teacher and student should both agree that the research question can be addressed within the word limit making the IA realistically achievable. The research proposal is a working and active document. There is also an action plan that identifies possible sources of information - individuals within the organization chosen for primary research. Anticipated difficulties must be noted. Issues of confidentiality and ethics should be discussed. The action plan should include a clear timeline of activities
Main results & findings
There must be sufficient primary research, and some secondary research. Sources and data should be clearly identified. Analyze your primary data by applying several business tools you have learnt (using quantitative tools will produce clearer results). Almost everyone uses SWOT – be different!
Analysis and evaluation
Analysis must focus on the primary research. The ideas should coherent and consistent with research question. Judgments should be made. There should be enough evidence to back up the analysis and evaluation. Evaluation should lead to your conclusions. Conclusion should answer your original question. Recommendations for future actions of the company, and also recommendations for future research should be made. There should also be evidence of critical, reflective thinking.
Presentation
The research project must be within the word limit 2,000 words and is valuable to management. Subject-specific terminology to be used throughout the report. Executive summary should be written at the end of the writing process and include: research question, explicit summary of the whole IA, recommendations and conclusions. Bibliography and references must follow a consistent format. Appendices must be relevant and should be referred to frequently in the body.
Pay attention to assessment criteria
Criteria A-I discussed below:
HL IA Criteria:
- Criterion A:
Research proposal needs to be appropriate, detailed, clear and focused. No elements should be missing!
Explain reasons for selecting primary sources and primary markets research methods used. Research proposal should say what will be done in the IA.
- Criterion B:
More than 1 primary research method is required to score 3 marks, ideally have 3 different methods:
(1) Interview
(2) Survey
(3) Observation or Focus Group
Company information such as Final Accounts are considered secondary data. The primary sources selected and data collected must be appropriate, varied and sufficient. Interview transcript should be in Appendix.
- Criterion C:
Use tools, techniques and theories in the main body only to analyse primary data collected. You must show that you understand each tool, e.g. explain selection of forces and weights in Force Field Analysis.
- Criterion D:
Main Results and Findings should be separated from Analysis and Discussion. In Analysis and Discussion part, explain the business issue/problem, analyse the decision to be made, evaluate arguments for and against this decision, and make judgements.
- Criterion E:
Conclusions must be consistent with the analysis and evaluation part, and supported by evidence.
- Criterion F:
Recommendations should be related to the main body and consistent with conclusions. Areas of further study must be in Recommendations, not in Conclusions. Further study must be relevant to the existing investigation.
- Criterion G:
Structure of ideas rather than structure of the document itself – ‘Is your language clear?’, ‘Can the examiner easily understand your ideas?’
- Criterion H:
No elements should be missing! Follow the structure:
(1) The research proposal consists four components:
– Research question
– Proposed methodology
– Anticipated difficulties, such as limited or biased sources
– Action Plan
(2) Title page
(3) Acknowledgements
(4) Contents page
(5) Executive summary
(6) Introduction
(7) Research question
(8) Methodology employed
(9) Main results and findings
(10) Analysis and Discussion
(11) Conclusions
(12) Recommendations
(13) Bibliography and references
(14) Appendices
- Criterion I:
Reflection on your research process and future improvements – how did you gather primary data? Reflection cannot be generalised.
‘How could my research be improved, if I had more time?’, ‘What else could I do?’
Reflection must not be placed in the Research Proposal, but in the body (in the methodology section or after recommendations).
