The HL internal assessment is a fieldwork-based study done reflexively and theorised. This lesson covers the HL task, critical engagement, positionality, using theory, and ethics.
Answer the quick checks, the sort and the match as you go to collect stars. Press Start when you are ready.
At HL the internal assessment is a fieldwork-based study. It involves a research proposal, a research report presenting and analysing the fieldwork, and a critical reflection. It is more extensive than the SL task and asks you to engage in genuine anthropological practice.
Critical engagement means analysing an account for its viewpoint, methods, key concepts and ethics. At HL there is an added expectation: to use anthropological theory to evaluate the material, for example reading an exchange practice through Mauss or a ritual through Turner.
Every account is written from a standpoint. Renato Rosaldo's positioned subject and Paul Rabinow's reflections show how the researcher's identity and experience shape fieldwork. In the HL research report and reflection you should examine how your positionality affected the study.
HL work applies theory to interpret material: an exchange read through Mauss's theory of the gift; a ritual through Turner's liminality; gender through Ortner or Strathern. The theory should illuminate the data and be evaluated against it, not just named.
Tap an activity, then tap which part of HL work it belongs to. (Two each.)
The HL study requires informed consent, do no harm, anonymity and honest reporting. Remember the crisis of representation (Writing Culture, Clifford and Marcus): your account is partial and authored, and there is a power difference between researcher and researched.
A strong HL report justifies its method choices, reflects on limits and positionality, connects data to key concepts and theory, and reaches an evaluated conclusion. Reflexivity is not an add-on; it runs through the whole study.
Tap an element on the left, then its description.
The HL proposal sets out a clear research question, the context, the methods you will use, and the ethical considerations. A focused, feasible question is worth more than an ambitious one you cannot actually research.
Analysis means finding patterns in your material, linking them to key concepts, and building an argument supported by evidence from the field. At HL you then bring in theory to interpret and evaluate what you found.
A strong HL report justifies why you chose your methods and theory, weighs their limits, reflects on your positionality, and considers alternative readings. Reflexivity runs through the whole account rather than sitting in a final paragraph.
HL IA: fieldwork study: proposal, research report, critical reflection
Critical engagement: analyse viewpoint, methods, concepts, ethics
Positionality: your standpoint shapes the study (Rosaldo, Rabinow)
Using theory: apply and evaluate theory (Mauss, Turner, Ortner)
Ethics: informed consent, do no harm, anonymity
Representation: the account is partial and authored (Writing Culture)
You are ready to plan, carry out and reflect on a theorised, ethical HL fieldwork study. Press Finish to see your score.
You have worked through Internal Assessment: Critical Engagement. 🎉
Your stars: 0 / 0
Next: test yourself in the Evaluate stage, then lock it in with Verify.