IA Scope of the Historical Investigation (History IA).... What is that?

[nerdfighter14]

Hello, all. I am working on my historical investigation, and according to my notes, I need to include the "scope" in my plan of investigation. What is the scope, exactly?

If someone could let me know ASAP, that'd be great. I've got to get the quote-on-quote rough draft into my teacher by Monday. This will need to include the plan of investigation, the summary of evidence, the bibliography and the 2 sources I plan to evaluate. I'd really like to get it all finished soon so I can enjoy one of my first weekends in months before I get to work on the EE.

Thanks so much!

(Oh, if it is of any consequence, my research question is currently To what extent did German nationalism in the 1910s through the 1930s aid in the Nazi party’s rise to power?

This may or may not need to be refined.)

[TykeDragon]

The title may be slightly too broad considering a TWE question will need to discuss other factors besides nationalism... and the dates would probably need to be more specific e.g 1919 (ToV) to 1933 (Hitler's chancellorship/enabling act) and would probably be better if reworded to just focus on nationalism - eg 'How did German nationalism from 1919 to 1933 aid the Nazi party's rise to power?' Then you can discuss consequences of ToV, flaws of Weimar Republic , Hitler's promises/publicity especially around the Munich Putsch, etc. Economics and ruhr crisis 1923 would probably be significant due to problems of Weimar, Hitler's promises and Germany's loathing to be at the mercy of US loans. It's an interesting topic though, I like your topic.

Regarding your question, the scope is the range of factors you will be considering - basically plan the range of your experiment, eg reactions to the resolution of WW1, crises/Hitler in 1920s, Hitler's chancellorship, that sort of thing. Basically, state the aspects/events you'll be looking at and analysing to answer your question!

Hope this helps.

[alefal]

Hey there!

It seems like TykeDragon as already answered very well on the question, so I just have a few things to add.

If it helps you, think of the scope as the frame of your task. What have you researched, and what aspects have you included?

As for the question, I completely agree with Tyke, you should definitely be more specific regarding the time frame and the rewording makes sense. Though, I would perhaps suggest to narrow it further down, considering that you only have approximately 6-800 words to discuss the topic itself (a lot of the words will go to the other categories, in particular the summary of evidence and source analysis). My concern is that you will cover everything in a very superficial manner, but you'll not really be able to discuss one thing in depth (which is the whole point of the IA, together with source criticism). If it is possible, I would personally have looked at, for instance, how the Paris Peace Treaties (mainly the Treaty of Versailles, but also Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, etc.) affected nationalism in Germany. I would also shorten the time frame a lot, as there were many events between 1919 and 1933 which shaped the German nationalism and which could be assessed. If you decide to write about the consequences of the Paris Peace Treaties, limit the time to, let's say, 1919 (Treaties signed) - 1923 (Beer Hall Putsch). This is a very turbulent period in the Weimar Republic, but unfortunately it is not as widely discussed in textbooks. Instead, most people concentrate on the Peace Treaties' effect on Hitler's road to power, in particular during the Great Depression. Since this has been written about so many times, you'd lose some marks due to lack of originality if you decide to do this variation. Even if you choose another potential cause of German nationalism, I would argue that a smaller time frame would be necessary for you to get a focused and detailed analysis. Perhaps the Ruhr Valley Crisis' effect on nationalism in the years 1923 (The actual invasion, Beer Hall putsch, hyperinflation) - 1929 (Crash of Wall Street, death of Stresemann) could lead to an interesting focal point for your research? Or perhaps to what extent Stresemann countered radical nationalism in the years 1924 (Dawes Plan) - 1929 (He died right before the Crash, but Young Plan should be discussed)?

Good luck!