IB Psychology (First Exam 2027) SL Internal Assessment Example

The student's research question is clear, focused, and fully operationalised with a defined population, independent variable, and dependent variable.

The student explains the real-life issue well and connects it to why their investigation matters for Year 12 students.

The student uses two relevant studies effectively to support the rationale for their investigation and shows awareness that their design tests association rather than causation.

The link between the research literature and the student's exact operational choices could be made even more explicit.

The practical consequences for the population are implied more than fully developed.

There is some inconsistency in how the outcome measure is described, which slightly weakens the precision of the introduction.

The student clearly explains why a natural groups approach is appropriate for their question and why bedtime is not being manipulated.

The student's procedure is coherent, sequential, and detailed enough to be followed, including timing, scoring, and key controls.

The student identifies ethical issues that matter for this investigation and links them directly to their method, including consent, confidentiality, and avoiding unnecessary risk.

Some procedural details could be even more precise, especially around standardisation of instructions and the distractor task.

The rationale for the exact bedtime cut-off could be justified more fully.

A few practical method details, such as data handling logistics, are not fully specified.