Background information

A bibliography is a list of every source used to research and write the Extended Essay. Part of your responsibility as a supervisor is to ensure that advice is given on how to compile a bibliography. You can either take this task on yourself or involve the school librarian. There are several different accepted styles that can be used. These include APA (American Psychological Association), APSA (American Political Science Association, Chicago/Turabian, CBE (Council of Biology Editors), MLA (Modern Language Association) and Harvard citation and referencing guide. These styles tend to vary from discipline to disciple. For example, natural scientists tend to use CBE or Harvard and social scientists tend to use APA or APSA but for the IB it does not matter which system is followed.

What does matter is:

• Whichever system is used it must be consistent – do not use different styles within the same bibliography.
• In Chemistry it is not important to list the references alphabetically. (In fact it is more common to list them in the order they are cited in the Extended Essay)
• Ensure that each reference contains

The author(s)
The title of book or article etc. (often given in italics)
Publisher
Date (normally year of publication)

• Generally sources that were not used to research the Extended Essay should not be included unless they may be of particular interest to a reader. Include sources you read for general information as well as those you actually cited.
• When citing a website include the date it was accessed.

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