What the IA asks of you

You investigate one specific religious practice, experience or belief — not a whole religion. Good topics are narrow and observable, for example:

• How a particular gurdwara runs its langar (community kitchen).
• What fasting in Ramadan means to members of one mosque.
• How one parish celebrates Holy Communion.
• The role of puja (home worship) in a Hindu family's daily life.

Golden rule: study a real, living practice you can actually research — through people, places and sources — rather than a huge abstract question.

A focused research question

Everything hangs on a sharp research question. Aim for one that is:

• Focused — one practice, one community, a manageable scope.
• Researchable — you can gather real evidence to answer it.
• Analytical — it invites explanation and interpretation, not just description.

Weak: "What is Islam?"  →  too broad. Better: "How do worshippers at one mosque understand the meaning of Friday prayer (Jumu'ah)?"

What does the IA investigate?

Primary and secondary sources

A convincing study uses both kinds of evidence:

• Primary sources — first-hand data you gather: an interview with a practitioner, your own respectful observation of a ritual, a short questionnaire, photographs you take on a visit.
• Secondary sources — others' scholarship: academic books, journal articles, reliable encyclopaedias and documentaries about the practice.

Why both? Primary sources give you the insiders' living voice; secondary sources give you accurate context and let you check what you find.

Which is a primary source?

Doing fieldwork respectfully

If you visit a place of worship or interview believers, ethics come first:

• Ask permission and explain your project; get informed consent for interviews.
• Follow the community's customs (dress, removing shoes, when to be silent).
• Protect people's privacy and represent their views accurately and fairly.
• Never treat a sacred practice as a curiosity — approach it with empathy.

Respect check: you are a guest studying something precious to others. Courtesy is not just polite — it makes your evidence more honest and trustworthy.

Which stage of the study?

Tap a task, then tap the stage of the IA it belongs to.

The phenomenological method

World Religions asks you to study practices as they mean to the believer. Two tools make this possible:

• Epoché (bracketing) — deliberately setting aside your own beliefs and judgements while you observe, so you describe rather than judge.
• Empathy — trying to understand the practice from the insider's point of view: what does it mean, and why does it matter, to them?

Not the same as agreeing: bracketing your own views does not mean you share them — it means you study fairly before you analyse.

What is bracketing?

Structuring the write-up

A clear investigative study usually moves through these parts:

• Introduction — the research question and why it is worth studying.
• Method — how you gathered evidence, and the sources you used.
• Findings — what your primary and secondary sources revealed.
• Analysis — interpreting the practice, linking to concepts from the course.
• Evaluation & conclusion — the strengths and limits of your study, and your answer.

Tip: Ninian Smart's seven dimensions (ritual, experiential, doctrinal, ethical and so on) give you a ready-made framework for the analysis.

Match the research tool to its meaning

Tap a term on the left, then its meaning on the right.

Evaluating your own study

Top marks come from honest evaluation. Ask:

• How reliable were my sources? Could an interviewee have given the "expected" answer?
• Was my sample tiny or one-sided, so I cannot generalise?
• Did my own bias shape what I noticed, despite bracketing?
• What would I do differently with more time or access?

Remember: recognising the limits of your method is a sign of good scholarship, not weakness — it shows you understand the difference between evidence and proof.

The big ideas to know

You now know how to build a strong Internal Assessment. Press Finish to see your score.