IA Historical Investigation Topic Help

[Dhairyya Singh]

Hi,

I am just about to start with IBDP yr-2 in a few days and our history teacher has already asked us to submit Section A,B and C. Far off from completing them, i am still having problems with my topic.

I have chosen a rough area or interest - WW2, particularly, Operation Barbarossa. The reason i want to explore this topic is that i am pretty intrigued as to why Hitler just abandoned the Western Front and just suddenly attacked Soviet Russia when Russia had already entered the was on their side! He repeated the fatal mistake Germany made in WW1 and it was the turning point of the war. A potential topic was - "To what extent was Operation Barbarossa necessary?" but as soon as i chose the topic and looked for material i ran into problems. There is a great dearth of sources on WHY Hitler suddenly attacked the Soviet Union. There are of coursed loads of books on the Operation itself and its consequences but none really that explore Hitler's reasoning and the validity of his reasoning.

I need help in the form of:

1. A second opinion as to if the topic i have chosen is a good one or i should change it to explore another aspect of Operation Barbarossa such as the reasons for its failure or its consequences?

2. If the topic is in fact good, a view as to if i will find enough sources and if so, where and in what form can i find them?

3. Any other comments on my topic in general.

Thank You

[alefal]

Hey there!

1. A second opinion as to if the topic i have chosen is a good one or i should change it to explore another aspect of Operation Barbarossa such as the reasons for its failure or its consequences?

To be honest, I don't find the topic to be innovative and/or original at all. Considering that EEs need to be original, I would advise you from writing your EE on Operation Barbarossa, as it has been studied and written about so many times already (and it is a part of the syllabus). Unless your topic is going to explore a completely unknown aspect of the operation, I suggest you find another topic altogether. In addition, your proposed RQ is way too unfocused. If you decide against my recommendations and choose to continue with this RQ, then at least rephrase it. Operation Barbarossa might have been necessary for who to achieve what? This might seem obvious to you, but it might not be so obvious for a random reader. As my teacher said - 'write for your granny, not a historian' (hopefully, your granny don't know much about the WW2 at all )

2. If the topic is in fact good, a view as to if i will find enough sources and if so, where and in what form can i find them?

That is a question you need to answer yourself through research. No-one on this forum will be able to estimate what sources you find, as it is you who conduct the research for the EE. Sources can be found in many forms - diaries, letters, books, essays and meeting minutes are just a few examples.

3. Any other comments on my topic in general.

I think I've said everything that came to my mind already. Although you might find Operation Barbarossa interesting (following your interest is generally a very good starting point for any essay you'll write - now or at university ), in this case I would recommend you to change it. The topic is way too common for you to do well. Try to find a topic where there are contrasting interpretations or something which has not been explored in depth previously.

Good luck!

[ak18]

WWII is often considered a cliche topic because most IB students taking history opt to research about it. Although if you do decide to stick with the topic, rephrase the question to make it more precise. Like you said, you could probably look into the reasons for its failure or the consequences if you find a new angle to it.

And as for finding materials for research, there are a lot of paid websites or archives online you could look at, or just ask the school librarian for help. But a normal Google search might help as a beginning.

[Dhairyya Singh]

Hey,

I appreciate the replies. Just to clear something out, the RQ that I cited was a potential, rudimentary question that would surely have been refined to something superfocused. But, Alefal, your reply really cleared things out. I spoke to my History teacher and he said that it is advisable to change my chosen topic as a) It is chosen a lot by students for their IAs and b) The topic is kinda one-dimensional and does not really have two opposing views that i can adequetly explore.

So, I have decided to go with something more recent from the cold war, specifically the cuban missile crisis. The aspects i would like to look at are the Soviet Union's true reasons behind placing missiles in cuba with a potential question being "Was the Soviet Union's placement of Missiles in Cuba just a ploy for self-preservation?". I could also look at it in the opposite direction and have a question like - "To what extent can it be said that the United States’ interference in Cuba was responsible for the Cuban Missile Crisis?" or "To what extent can it be said that the United States’ interference in Cuba was just a deceptive pretext for placing missiles in Cuba?". This aspect would look more at the true intentions of the Soviet Union in placing missiles in Cuba.

So again what i want is:

1. Your views on this topic and if it is too overused.

2. If the topic is good enough, will i be able to find material?

Thanks

[alefal]

Hey there again!

The Cuban Missile Crisis is surely another very interesting period, but is also one of the more analysed ones. This has both a positive and a negative side - the positive being that there's a lot of sources available, the negative being that you'll have a harder time writing something original (which was also the case with your ideas regarding Operation Barbarossa). The latter is in particular true when it comes to your RQs number 1 (was the Soviet Union's placement of missiles...) and 2 (US interference responsible for the crisis), but also to a large extent the case with your last RQ. If you don't want to change your RQ, though, the latter is the best in my eyes, though you should narrow down what you mean with 'United State's interference' (do you refer to the sugar embargo, the Bay of Pigs, etc.?). Remember that you only have about 6-800 words on the actual topic analysis, and this analysis should be as focused as possible. As for available materials, since this is a popular topic, I don't think you will face a hard time finding material on this topic. Keep in mind, though, that you won't necessarily find material that exclusively talk about the US interference and its effects, and you should be able to logically deduce things from what you read, and then use the material you've found as proof.

Now, I see two feasible ways of improving your HI at this stage. I'll go through both of them in as much detail as I can and have time to.

1. Focus on a narrower part of the Cuban Missile Crisis - preferably one that hasn't been looked at that much

For this one, I suggest you try to find historical documents and analyse them by using other historians' and your own deductions. By historical documents, I refer to newspapers (To what extent did this American and that British newspaper differ in their views on Soviet actions?), telegrams (To what extent did these two telegrams reflect that person's thoughts/policies?), diaries, etc.. Note that the RQs in the brackets are mere examples and could be changed completely. By focusing on a (a few) historical document(s), you will more likely than not have a much more original approach to the topic, and you will have better chances of doing well if you manage to pull it off. It will probably be a slightly more difficult approach to the topic, but it won't be one of the more generic HIs out there. A very good source for first-hand sources from the Cold War is the Cold War International History Project (short: CWIHP). Just go to the digital archive tab on the left side, and you should find a collection which is full of historical documents regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. If you want actual analysis of the topic, CWIHP also publishes free-to-read analyses by renowned historians on most topics relating to the Cold War. You can find these in the 'Publications' tab, also on the left side of the main page. There could also be some relevant information in the 'CWIHP Resources' tab. Just keep in mind that it should make sense to approach the topic from two or more viewpoints, and that you should actively analyse these viewpoints in your HI.

If that seems too troublesome, I suggest you do more research on the topic and find topics on the Cuban Missile Crisis that is not talked about that much, or perhaps historians having conflicting views on a certain topic. The latter is perhaps the most ideal for a HI, besides using historical documents. This could potentially be easier to work on than my other suggestion, but could result in a slightly less original HI if you're not careful. It would still be worthwhile if you manage to find something interesting, though.

2. Change the topic

As mentioned, your topic has been researched and written about a lot of times already, and your best bet could be to change the topic completely. Try to avoid Cold War and World War topics, as they tend to be well-researched fields of study. From what I've understood, the IBO recommends looking at history from a student's own nation, as that is often overlooked by students. As you're from India, that could be the Mughal empire, the British colonisation of India, the fight for independence, the Sino-Indian war in 1962 or anything else that is related to India, whether that is ancient history or more contemporary history (as long as you don't breach the 10-years rule). You could also apply these thoughts to other nations - you could for instance look at the Peloponnesian War from Greek history, the Norse Vikings' travels to Constantinople, the Mongol invasions of Korea or the Peace of Westphalia. All these topics need to be narrowed down quite a lot, of course, but could give you some ideas as to what to look for.

Changing the topic is not something it's too easy to give advice for, though, as it's only you who can really decide what kind of history you'd prefer to write about. If you decide to change topic, I'd recommend you to define what kind of history you like (ancient history, wars, diplomacy, commerce, etc..) and go from there.

Again, good luck!