IB Extended Essay General Guide. Archive copy.: Home

Using the FOSIL Cycle to guide you during the EE process will help you to structure your inquiry and make sure you don't miss key stages - and end up needing to work twice as hard! Based on the Stripling Cycle of Inquiry, the FOSIL cycle rests on a solid background of internationally recognised research into how to conduct inquiry effectively.

You can find out in more detail how this can help you by working through the dedicated LibGuide for your subject.

The Information Search Process (by Carol Kuhlthau) is based on research about what inquirers are likely to be feeling, thinking and doing at different stages of the inquiry process. Understanding this can help you to navigate your way through the process.

Knowing when in process you might expect to feel confused and frustrated, for example, helps you to anticipate, recognise and embrace this as a necessary stage that you need to pass through to reach the feelings confidence, satisfaction and accomplishment that come with a job well done. It also helps you to know when you might need some extra help and support - either from an expert such as your supervisor or a member of Library staff, or from a friend or family member who can just give you a bit of encouragement when you need it.

In this table we have integrated this with the FOSIL Cycle and the EE process to help you locate yourself more easily.

This timetable summarises all the deadlines that everyone is expected to meet, and events designed to support the whole cohort. You will also need to set yourself personal deadlines for completing particular elements of your inquiry, and arrange support and reflection meetings with your supervisor.

It would be a good idea to save a copy of this document and add to it to create your own personal timeline. You might want to share this timeline with your supervisor and include it in your Researcher's Reflection Space (see individual subject LibGuides for details). It is likely to evolve as your inquiry takes shape, but setting personal interim deadlines makes it more likely that you will be able to meet the formal ones that the school has set for you.