Biology IA Checklist

These sec'ons should all appear in the IA in the following order and contain the informa'on listed
TL;DR (Too Long ; Didn’t Read) is a short summary of what each sec;on should contain

Research Ques;on
Needs to be specific and focused.
Includes: IV (with range), DV (with unit and period of measurement) and Study species (common name)
RQ is wriGen the same everywhere in the IA
TL;DR sentence that describes exactly what you are inves;ga;ng including all key informa;on

Background
Context provides concise descrip;on of the system in which RQ is embedded
Detailed biological explana;on for the main processes involved in the IA
Include figure(s) if it helps explain a process/theory/context
Explains and jus;fies use of study species (wriGen: Genus species)
Prior peer-reviewed studies conducted in this topic and the gaps the IA will seek to fill
TL;DR – theory and context a reader needs to know to understand and follow the inves;ga;on

Hypothesis
Specific predic;on for how your IV groups will impact your DV(s)
Can be supported by a predic;ve graph showing a hypothesized LOBF of expected rela;onship
Detailed and supported jus;fica;on for this predic;on using biological theory/literature
TL;DR – A specific answer to your RQ with jus;fica;on for this predic;on

Independent Variable
State the variable. Provide the range (including units)
Describe the IV in terms of how it is being made and used/applied
Jus;fy the selec;on of the IV experimental groups including range and increments. Be sure to indicate which is
the control (if there is one) and why it’s a control.
* For a typical inves:ga:on, 5 experimental groups (4+ control) are the minimum standard
Provide the number of repeats/trials per experimental group. Jus;fy why this amount of data is appropriate and
sufficient at answering the RQ. 5 repeats/trials per group is the bare minimum – more is recommended
TL;DR – explana;on of experimental groups you are tes;ng and why were these chosen

Dependent Variable(s)
State DV (including units and ;me period of measure, if applicable)
Describe how it will be measured and over what ;me period including apparatus.
Include diagram/image of how measurement was taken either in this sec;on or in methodology
Jus;fy the selec;on of the DV (why this measurement, quan;ty, ;me etc.)
TL;DR – explana;on of variable you are measuring and why was this chosen

Control Variables
Control Variable and Impact Method of Control
Describe how this be controlled / kept constant
Explain biologically what the poten;al impact this
Include specific apparatus and values
variable could have on your DV
Jus;fy these choices

TL;DR – explana;on of variables (other than your IV) that could influence your DV and how they will be controlled
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Uncontrolled Variables
Uncontrolled Variable and Impact Method of Control
Explain biologically what the poten;al impact this Describe how this be monitored throughtout the
variable could have on your DV inves;ga;on

TL;DR – explana;on of variables that could influence your DV that are outside of your control and how they will
be monitored so as to determine if they influenced inves;ga;on

Safety Considera;ons
If none, outline and jus;fy this
Hazard Nature of Hazard Method of Control
Name of the hazard (chemical, How will hazard be controlled so
Describe poten;al harm or risk
microorganism, hazardous as to minimize/eliminate risk
Support with references
procedue or apparatus) Support with references

TL;DR – explana;on of poten;al dangers and how harm will be prevented

Environmental Considera;ons
Explain and jus;fy how materials/plants/chemicals were properly disposed of following the conclusion of IA
These considera;ons should be supported with references (past studies, MSDS, etc.)
TL;DR – aaer your IA is done, how will you deal with materials and study species appropriately

Ethical Considera;ons
If none don’t need to include.
If animals were used: follow the IB guidelines and explain how appropriate measures were done
If data is collected from par;cipants or secondary data used: explain how permission/consent was obtained and
how data will be used during and aaer the inves;ga;on, including anonymity
TL;DR – explana;on of how IA is minimizing any nega;ve impacts to living things involved

Materials
items have quan;ty (x1) and or amount (g, mL)
chemicals have concentra;ons and volume (mL) /amount (g)
containers have dimensions/sizes

Apparatus
units and precision (±)
brand/model of apparatus if known
TL;DR – everything inves;gator needs to conduct inves;ga;on to as much detail as possible

Methodology
Use subheadings to separate method into parts
Use diagrams/pictures of the experimental setup and specific steps. Cite these in relevant steps
Each step should be detailed including the name of apparatus used
Control table can be referenced when referring to how variables were controlled/maintained
Ensure elements including ;me period, trials, repeats are clear
* Ensure you are not repea;ng informa;on. If relevant informa;on was wriGen elsewhere in IA, reference it
TL;DR – detailed step-by-step explana;on which would allow any reader to easier replicate inves;ga;on

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Qualita;ve Data
IV group (trial) Oberva;ons Image
Provide descrip;ve non-numerical
Include image of observa;on
obervarions (colour, shape, smell, etc.)

TL;DR – any non-numerical data which can help elucidate differences among trials and experimental groups

Raw Quan;ta;ve Data

Raw Data
Formaeng reminders:
o Detailed table cap;on, including any shorforms used in the table for clarity
o Column headers (IV and DV) contain units and uncertain;es (where applicable)
o All data presented to the same decimal place which matches the listed uncertainty of apparatus
o Anomalies highlighted where applicable
* If there is so much raw data that it cannot fit in this sec;on, provide a sample and the rest in appendix

Example table cap:on format:

Table 1 – [raw data collected] of [Study species] measured aaer [;me frame] for [IV groups].

Table 1 – Length of plant (root to ;p) of A. schoenoprasum measured aaer 30 days in groups exposed to varying
concentra;ons of auxin hormone.

Example table formats:

Data collec:on entails collec:ng data once per trial per IV group
Independent Dependent variable (unit ± uncertainty)
variable (unit ±
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
uncertainty)
IV group 1

Data collec:on entails collec:ng data twice (beginning and end) per trial per IV group
Dependent variable (unit ± uncertainty)
Independent
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
variable (unit ±
uncertainty) Ini;al Final Ini;al Final Ini;al Final Ini;al Final Ini;al Final
IV group 1

Data collec:on entails collec:ng data over several :me points once per trial per IV group
Independent Dependent variable (unit ± uncertainty)
variable (unit ±
Trials Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
uncertainty)
1
2
IV group 1 3
4
5

TL;DR – all unmodified numerical data collected

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Processed Data
For each calcula;on (ex: mean, st dev, rate, etc.):
o Descrip;on of what this calcula;on is and jus;fica;on for why it was done
o Descrip;on of how it was conducted (excel, online calculator, etc.)
Descrip;on of measurement uncertain;es. Explain how the uncertain;es of your IV and DV were
determined/calculated
Processed Data Table (with mean, st dev, etc.)
Example table format:

Independent variable Mean Dependent variable

Standard Devia;on
(unit ± uncertainty) (unit)

Sta;s;cal Analyses
Descrip;on and explana;on for choice of sta;s;cal test conducted
Descrip;on of how it was conducted (excel, online calculator, etc.) including screenshot if applicable
Null and alterna;ve hypotheses
Full results of the sta;s;cal tests presented as a tables

* Consult the following flowchart to help determine what test(s) to run: Stats flowchart

Graph(s)
Large and not blurry (copy/paste from excel; DO NOT screenshot)
Graph cap;on contains informa;on regarding study species, what is being measured, over what ;me period,
source of error bars, and informa;on of sta;s;cs included (ex: as r2, p value)
leGers above data points can be used to indicate sta;s;cal difference (if post-hoc test conducted)
2 graph op;ons:
1. scaGer plot: IV and DV are con;nuous
y and x axis labels have name and units
LOBF is solid line, has r2 and p value (from stats test such as Pearson, ANOVA, etc.)
Ver;cal error bars from Standard Devia;on or Standard error
Horizontal error bars for the uncertainty in IV values

2. bar chart: IV discon;nuous/categorical (ex: different types of fer;lizers)

y has name and units, x has descriptor
Ver;cal error bars from Standard Devia;on or Standard error

* Graphs only ever plot processed data (no trials), thus y axis is “mean of DV”
** The fewer the beGer: only include mul;ple graphs if absolutely necessary to the RQ

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 Biology IA Checklist

Example graph formats:

Graph 1 – ScaGer plot of length of plant (root to ;p) of Study species measured aaer 30 days in groups exposed to
varying concentra;ons of chemical X. Ver;cal error bars show ±1 Standard devia;on, horizontal error bars show ±1
calculated uncertainty (see “Analysis” sec;on). Coefficient of determina;on displayed under trendline along with p value
from Pearson correla;on coefficient.

Mean length of Study species exposed to different

concentration of X after z days
80.0

70.0

60.0

50.0
length (mm)

40.0
R² = 0.5003
30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
concentration of X added (molL-1)

Graph 2 – Bar chart of germina;on success of Study species in groups planted in different soil treatments.
Error bars show ±1 Standard devia;on. Groups which do not share leGers denote significant difference (post-hoc Tukey
p < 0.05).

Mean germination success of Study species

across different soil treatments
100.0
90.0 C
germination success (%)

80.0 ABC
70.0 BC
60.0 AB
50.0 A
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
no treatment Potassium Nitrogen Phosphorus NPK
(control)
Soil treatment

TL;DR – visual representa;on of processed data which helps elucidate differences between and within groups
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Analysis
Discuss qualita;ve data
Discuss quan;ta;ve data
o Overall trends and differences among your groups.
o Variability within your groups (st dev, anomalies/outliers, measurement uncertainty)
o Variability between your groups (error bar overlap, measurement uncertainty, p values from stats)
TL;DR – Detailed descrip;on of collected and processed data.

Conclusion
Overall conclusion based on your analysis
Answer RQ
Does this support your hypothesis or not? Jus;fy
Explana;on for your findings using scien;fic theory and comparison to prior/similar studies
Re-address your context
TL;DR – Detailed explana;on of collec;on and processed data using scien;fic theory

Evalua;on

Weaknesses/Limita;ons Sugges;ons for Improvement

Discuss quality, reliability and limita;ons of data collected For EACH weakness/limita;on provided:
and sources of error explain clear, specific
Methodological only (rela;ng to approach of inves;ga;on improvements/sugges;ons to how this
to RQ or procedural steps) method could be improved in order to
Weaknesses could include issues rela;ng to: beGer answer RQ
o control of variables Be specific in terms of values/quan;;es,
o measurement apparatus precision materials and apparatus you would use
o data variability Sugges;ons should be jus;fied
Limita;ons could include issues rela;ng to: Sugges;ons should be realis;c in the
o IV increments/range context of a high school student
o Length of data collec;on period
o Number of repeats/trials per experimental group
o Confines of the system of study
TL;DR – Detailed explana;on of how the inves;ga;on was lacking and how it can be improved if it were repeated

Reference List
Consistent, correct format, alphabe;cal order (use APA guidelines)
Sources are all appropriate and are either from peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, and/or trusted websites

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 Biology IA Checklist

**Formaeng**
3000 words maximum (excluding charts, diagrams, graphs, data tables, equa;ons, calcula;ons, references,
works cited, headers)
Page number included on each page
Margins normal (moderate at most)
Font 12 minimum throughout en;re IA (including figure cap;ons, graphs, tables)
Tables do not break pages
Headings/cap;ons are not separated from their related text
Pictures/diagrams:
o have a figure name (Figure 1) and cap;on (use APA guidelines)
o referenced in text (see Figure 1)
o placed directly near where they are referenced in text (not on a different page)
o not blurry and stay within the normal margins
All entries in reference list are referenced in-text in the IA (use APA guidelines)
WriGen in third-person passive (avoid all use of personal pronouns if possible)
Every ;me biological/scien;fic explana;ons are provided or jus;fica;ons are given an in-text cita;on is used as
support.
Complex/subject-specific terms are defined/explained clearly (avoid use of jargon)

* Any IA that lacks references and a work cited will be submiUed as “no grade” due to doubts of authen:city
** the IA will be run through Turni:n and Chat GPT checkers. Any issue in this regarded will be treated as plagiarism and
the IA will be submiUed as “no grade” and may result in poten:al removal from IB and Biology

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