IB World Studies SL Extended Essay Exemplar: Do human sex pheromones exist and if they do, to what extent can humans detect them?

The research question is clearly stated, framed as an interrogative, and consistently signposted throughout the investigation.

The interdisciplinary focus (biology + psychology) is well communicated and sustained in headings and structure.

The student demonstrates an informed selection of a mixed‐methods approach, outlining key procedural steps and ethical safeguards.

The scope remains somewhat over-ambitious, bundling two complex inquiries (existence vs. extent of detection) and referring to the whole human population.

Methodological justification is still surface-level, with limited discussion of alternative designs or more advanced biochemical assays.

Key ethical protocols are relegated to appendices rather than summarised in the main method section.

A wide range of secondary and primary sources (≈30 academic articles, textbooks and key empirical studies) are selected and applied directly to the investigation.

Technical terminology (e.g., vomeronasal organ, chi-square) is used correctly and consistently throughout.

Background theories from biology and psychology are presented with generally accurate detail and linked to the student’s own experimental data.

Some non‐scholarly sources (blogs, teaching websites) dilute overall rigour, and a few bibliography entries are duplicated or outdated.

Integration of theory with primary results remains uneven; sections sometimes read as literature summaries rather than synthesised application.

Conceptual definitions (e.g., ‘pheromones’) are cited uncritically and would benefit from deeper comparative analysis.