Identify misconceptions and inconsistencies by comparing your initial assumptions with your findings, then checking disagreements against reliable sources and the context of each claim. In the IB World Religions SL investigative study, explain how these checks changed your understanding and evaluate any uncertainty that remains.
Distinguish the Two Problems
| Problem | Meaning in your research | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Misconception | An inaccurate assumption or understanding that evidence challenges. | You assumed all Christians recognize seven sacraments, but research shows denominational differences. |
| Inconsistency | A discrepancy between claims, observations or sources requiring investigation. | An interviewee describes weekly attendance as universal, but observations and other accounts show varied participation. |
A common misconception is that disagreement automatically means one source is wrong. Differences may reflect denomination, culture, geography, personal experience or changes over time rather than factual error.
Check Your Evidence Systematically
- Revisit your starting assumptions. Compare your preliminary research and expectations with interview notes, observations and subsequent reading. Identify precisely what you originally misunderstood.
- Compare sources. Use triangulation, checking a claim against different sources or methods. Compare an interview with an observation and an authoritative text, while recognizing that prescribed practice and lived practice may differ.
- Check context and authority. Ask which community the claim concerns, when it was made and whether the speaker describes personal experience or official teaching. One adherent does not represent an entire religion.
- Evaluate your methods. Consider whether leading questions, a single visit, selective quotations or your own assumptions produced the apparent discrepancy.
For example, observing Sunday attendance at a British gurdwara might challenge an assumption that Sunday is a Sikh holy day. Sikhism has no prescribed weekly holy day; local schedules can reflect working patterns.
Apply This in Your IA
Under Critical reflection and evaluation, connect each correction or unresolved discrepancy to your research question. Criterion D, worth 10 marks, rewards developed reflection: state the original assumption, explain the evidence, assess your method and identify focused future research.