Sample+of+past+IA+questions

Note, these are examples only. They come from a variety of sources. The fact that they are listed here DOES NOT endorse the questions in any way. These have been posted to provide you with an idea only. Some comments have been added to some of the questions.
 * Examples of past IA research questions.**


 * 1) How accurately can the battle of Teutoburg Forest be reconstructed through archeological fieldwork?
 * 2) In what ways did the guild system affect the development of Norwich?
 * 3) Why was Charlemagne crowned Emperor by the Pope in 800? (This question could lead to a narrative response, consider rephrasing to add an element of debate)
 * 4) What were the contributions of Genghis Khan to the rise of Mongol power?
 * 5) Why was the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas important in the medieval Church? (Again, phrased like this, it could become a simple explanation as to why it was important. You need to rephrase so that you can analyse different elements of the debate)
 * 6) How historically accurate is the depiction of Saladin in the film Naser Salah el Dine, El (1963)?
 * 7) In what ways did the work of Henry the Navigator inspire Portuguese exploration?
 * 8) How did the geisha’s way of life change during the Meiji period?
 * 9) In what ways did the New Deal’s Farm Security Administration use photography as propaganda to support its programmes? (Is there enough scope for critical analysis in a question like this? Consider rephrasing)
 * 10) How did the experiences of British Second World War veterans serving in Europe compare with those in the Pacific?
 * 11) Why, and with what consequences for its citizens, was Dresden (any affected town could be substituted) bombed in 1945?
 * 12) In what ways did the Chinese communists use the traditional art form of opera to promote their ideology during the Cultural Revolution?
 * 13) To what extent did the experiences of Vietnam veterans in Tulsa, Oklahoma mirror the US public’s overall perception of the war?
 * 14) How did the coverage of the Falklands/Malvinas War differ in the British and Argentine press?
 * 15) To what extent were the Moscow Olympic Games of 1980 affected by Cold War tensions? (Bit broad, what aspects of the Olympic Games?)
 * 16) To what extent were the demands of revolutionaries in France met between 1789 and 1794?
 * 17) “Napoleon I’s domestic policies successfully reformed and modernized France.” To what extent do you agree with this assertion? (Rephrase, this is not a research question but an essay statement)
 * 18) How successful was the Congress of Vienna in achieving peace and stability in Europe between 1815 and 1848?
 * 19) In what ways, and for what reasons, was the period 1815 to 1866 one of change for Austria?
 * 20) Assess the role of Piedmont-Sardinia in Italian unification between 1850 and 1861.
 * 21) For what reasons, and with what results, did Disraeli play an important part in British politics between 1846 and 1880?
 * 22) Analyse the reasons for, and the nature of, opposition to Tsardom in Russia between 1855 and 1894.
 * 23) Evaluate the successes and failures of Bismarck’s foreign policy between 1871 and 1890.
 * 24) Analyse the development and importance of the trade union movement in one European country in the nineteenth century.
 * 25) Assess the impact of either Marxism or nationalism in Europe, in the second half of the nineteenth century.
 * 26) “A period of economic stagnation and political decline.” To what extent is this a fair assessment of Spain between 1848 and 1914?
 * 27) Assess the successes and failures of the domestic policies of Napoleon III.
 * 28) Why did Nicholas II survive the 1905 revolution, but lose his throne in the February/March 1917 revolution?
 * 29) In what ways, and to what extent, were German and Austrian policies responsible for the outbreak of the First World War?
 * 30) Compare and contrast the part played by Lenin and Trotsky in the development of the USSR between 1918 and 1924.
 * 31) To what extent did collective security become a victim of economic problem in the inter-war years?
 * 32) Analyse the main factors, which contributed to Hitler’s rise to power in January 1933.
 * 33) Evaluate the domestic policies of Mussolini between 1922 and 1939. (Perhaps better to focus on one of the 'battles' (Lira, Grain, Births) and evaluate that.
 * 34) To what extent did divisions in Spain and in Spanish society cause the Spanish Civil War?
 * 35) Account for the successes of Nazi Germany in Europe between 1938 and 1942. (Rephrase so that it becomes a research question)
 * 36) Compare and contrast the parts played in the Cold War by two of the following: Khrushchev; Brezhnev; Gorbachev.
 * 37) Examine the impact of the EU (European Union) between 1955 and 1995. (Time frame is too big, and narrow down impact on a certain aspect of a country / economy / section of society)
 * 38) For what reasons, and with what results, did communist regimes in Eastern Europe (excluding USSR) collapse (1989-90)? (This is an essay statement; turn it into an IA research question that invites debate and analysis)
 * 39) Did Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" initiative play a critical role in the collapse of the Soviet Union? (Make it: to what extent....)
 * 40) To what extent did the successes of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift overshadow the negative outcomes for the Western Powers?
 * 41) An Investigation into Tiananmen Square discussing the heroes popularised in Western Media and Deng Xiaoping’s "martyrs." (Topic only, change it to a research question)
 * 42) Was the crossing of the Luding Bridge in May 1935 a great communist victory against tremendous odds, or a minor skirmish exaggerated by the Chinese Communist Party for propaganda purposes?
 * 43) Kent State: Was it the turning point in the Vietnam War?
 * 44) What were the causes of the Boston Massacre 1776? (too narrative)
 * 45) An oral history study on the role of women living in post-World War II Britain. (not a fully developed question yet)
 * 46) Why did the Special Operations Executive send aid to Tito’s communist Partisans? (Choose different command term to make it more analytical)
 * 47) The German Occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (topic only)
 * 48) How far were Republican divisions responsible for their loss in the Spanish Civil War?
 * 49) Was Hitler's "euthanasia" policy distinctively Nazi? (develop further)
 * 50) Cinema as History: Sir Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (topic only)
 * 51) An examination of the Greenham Common Peace Protesters (rephrase as a detailed question)
 * 52) Triumph of the Will: Art, Propaganda or documentary?
 * 53) To what extent did David Low's cartoons accurately reflect public opinion in Britain in the years before World War II? (Hard to find evidence on a topic like this, have you check what sources are available to you?)
 * 54) To what extent is the 2004 film Finding Neverland historically accurate in its account of the life of J M Barrie?
 * 55) To what extent did Louis XVI’s execution contribute to the "Terror" in France 1793?
 * 56) What was the cause of the Rwandan Genocide? (rephrase, too narrative, make more analytical)
 * 57) To what extent does the film I Shot Andy Warhol faithfully portray the events of Andy Warhol’s shooting on the 3rd of June 1968?
 * 58) What were the reasons for the Allies bombing of Dresden in the Second World War and were they justified in destroying this city?
 * 59) How and why did the reports of the American newspaper The New York Times and the British newspaper The Times differ in their reports of the Soviet and American administrations during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
 * 60) How did an admiration of Italian Baroque architecture and ancient mythology become reflected in the design and construction of the Palace of Versailles?
 * 61) To what extent does the film Amadeus accurately portray the final illness and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? (Not enough scope for evaluation/analysis?)
 * 62) Did the Bielski Otriad experience the same internal and external conflicts portrayed in the film Defiance?
 * 63) How useful is the art of George Grosz to the historian of Weimar Germany?
 * 64) Does oral testimony substantiate the view that life in East Germany got worse following the fall of Nazism?
 * 65) How successfully did Hitler promote the ideal of the family in the Third Reich? (hard to find sources that say otherwise)
 * 66) How did newspaper reports on the death of Kennedy vary, and how reliable were they?
 * 67) How and why did the accounts of the storming of the Winter Palace in october 1917 differ in the film October and in the book A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924?
 * 68) How, when and why was the church/mosque/temple of [name] build and what can be learnt from the town of [name] in a defined period?
 * 69) How significant was Fidel Castro’s role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962?
 * 70) To what extent do the film The Charge of the Light Brigade and the book The Charge: The Real Reason Why the Light Brigade was Lost agree on the apportioning of blame for the failure of the charge of the Light Brigade?
 * 71) To what extend was the involvement in the United States government and the CIA responsible for the downfall of Salvador Allende?
 * 72) What were the real motives for the different views held by Churchill and Chamberlain during the years previous to World War II? Rephrase
 * 73) A study of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II (topic only)
 * 74) “Mao’s swim across the Yangtze River inspired the renewed cult of Mao and provided an image of Mao as a leader for a new revolutionary generation.” (Rephrase as a question and make sure there's an element of debate, something with a scope for analysis)
 * 75) To what extent can Nixon’s Vietnamization policy be considered a success?
 * 76) Did the Soviet Union assemble missiles in Cuba in 1962 solely to protect Cuba from invasion? (Consider using "To what extent")
 * 77) An investigation into the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989. (topic only, not a research question)
 * 78) Although the Night of Long Knives was characterised by the Nazis as Hitler taking a "courageous action which saved the German Volk from civil war,” he was motivated more by a desire to eliminate threats to his own supremacy within the Party and earning the loyalty of the Army. (make more succinct and it should be phrased as a question)
 * 79) Was the Berlin Wall built simply to deny freedom to East Germans under Soviet rule or did it serve a greater purpose? (what does "greater purpose mean, be more specific)
 * 80) An examination of the significance of British politics in the responses to the Jack the Ripper cases in the 1880s.
 * 81) How effective was the Marshall Plan was in reconstructing Europe? (narrow down, perhaps pick a country and add a time frame, or choose an element of the economy or society.)
 * 82) Why was Margaret Sanger a successful public advocate for birth control in the United States?
 * 83) What were the social, economic and political impacts of the launch of Sputnik on the US and USSR at that point in time of the Cold War?
 * 84) A study of why the United States became involved in Vietnam. (narrow down, too broad, and it is too narrative, it does not invite analysis)
 * 85) Victim or aggressor: An examination of German motives in 1914.
 * 86) Who emerged on top from the Cuban Missile Crisis? (What is "on top", how do you define it? Be more specific)
 * 87) How successful were the Soviet Five Year Plans? (All of them? Which ones? Successful in what way, how will you measure / define success?)

Some more: (Disclaimer again: Some of these questions are great, others may have been problematic. These questions are here to provide ideas only. The fact that these questions are listed here DOES NOT endorse the questions in any way.)


 * 1) Did education reforms successfully achieve Mao's aims in the Cultural Revolution?
 * 2) Discuss the reasons why the youth were eager to adopt the violence of the Red Guards during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
 * 3) How accurate is it to describe the Battle of Midway as the turning point of the Pacific War?
 * 4) How did Britain justify the policy of appeasement?
 * 5) How significant were Joan Clarke and Mavis Lever’s contribution to code-breaking at Bletchley Park bringing World War 2 to its end?
 * 6) How successful was the Zhenotdel in achieving its goals
 * 7) How successful were Mao's reforms in changing the role of women in Chinese society?
 * 8) How successful, from the point of view of the Soviet Government, was their Hujum campaign for the unveiling of muslim women in Uzbekistan?
 * 9) How useful is Eisenstein's film October as a source for Historians studying the Russian Revolution?
 * 10) In what ways and to what extent was terror an instrument of control for Lenin as he consolidated his rule?
 * 11) In what ways and with what reasons was the Zhenotdel a failed organisation?
 * 12) Is Alexander II's title as the 'Tsar-Liberator' justified in regard to his Emancipation of the Serfs (1861)?
 * 13) To what extend did Heinrich Brüning’s economic austerity policies contribute to the conditions that enabled the rise of the Nazi Party
 * 14) To what extent can Chiang Kai-shek’s domestic policies during the Nanjing Decade be labelled as fascist?
 * 15) To what extent can Nazi foreign policy between January 30th, 1933 and September 1st, 1939 be considered Intentionalist?
 * 16) To what extent can Russian mobilisation be considered the main cause of the First World War?
 * 17) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent can Speer be held responsible for the increase in German Armament production between 1942 - 1944?
 * 18) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent can the Korean War be considered a product of Cold War hostilities?
 * 19) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Adolf Hitler aim for global domination rather than control of Europe between 1925 and 1941?
 * 20) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Austria risk European war in order to expand their empires into the Balkans?
 * 21) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Eleanor Roosevelt's influence affect the participation of women in politics during the legislation of the New Deal laws (1933 - 1938)?
 * 22) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Franklin D. Roosevelt abandon isolationism before the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?
 * 23) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did German tactical errors affect the outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad?
 * 24) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Japanese military, economic and political factors play a role in causing the Marco Polo Bridge incident of July 1937?
 * 25) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Milosevic's visit to Kosovo Polje in April 1987 contribute to his rse to power?
 * 26) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Qing internal conflict provide the conditions for the Boxer Rebellion?
 * 27) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did the production of steel during the GLF affect the Chinese economy?
 * 28) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did the status of women improve in China between 1911 and 1950?
 * 29) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Tsar Nicholas II's failure of leadership contribute to the Russian Revolution of 1905?
 * 30) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did Tsarina Alexandra influence Tsar Nicolas II during 1915 - 1917?
 * 31) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent did weather conditions limit the effectiveness of German Blitzkrieg strategy in the Battle of Moscow?
 * 32) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent should Mao be held responsible for the Great Chinese Famine (1959 - 1961)?
 * 33) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was Ataturk’s language reform instrumental in the modernisation of Turkey?
 * 34) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was Bismarckian diplomacy more important that the Zollverein in the unification of Germany under Prussia?
 * 35) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was German unification under Prussia a result of Bismarck's diplomacy?
 * 36) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was Leon Trotsky essential to Bolshevik seizure of power in the October 1917 Revolution?
 * 37) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was Mao genuinely seeking criticism in launching the 100 Flowers campaign?
 * 38) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was Mao’s desire for political control a key factor that influenced his decision to instigate the Cultural Revolution?
 * 39) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was nationalism the cause of German unification in 1871?
 * 40) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was Spain during 1933 - 1975 a Fascist state?
 * 41) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the Abyssinian crisis the key cause of the collapse of Collective Security?
 * 42) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the administration of the mandate system 'internationalization' or 'annexation'?
 * 43) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the emancipation of the serfs an economic success and of benefit to the serfs?
 * 44) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the fall of the tasrist regime in Russia a result of the Tsar's own incompetence?
 * 45) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the increase of anti-semitism in Berlin diminished by the 1936 Summer Olympics?
 * 46) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the Kronstadt rebellion a call for democracy in Russia?
 * 47) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was the NSDAP a Mittelstand party?
 * 48) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was US diplomatic mediation between the communists and Nationalists during the Dixie Mission (1944 - 1945) compromised from the beginning?
 * 49) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent was WWI responsible for the Russian Revolution in 1917?
 * 50) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To what extent were Mao's initial intentions of the 100 flowers campaign to improve the communist government?
 * 51) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">To What Extent were the Aims and Policies of the Social Market Economy (China) influenced by the New Economic Policy (Soviet)?
 * 52) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Was Rosa Parks a genuine leader or an unintentional activist with regards to the Montgomory Bus Boycott?
 * 53) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Was the Russian October Revolution of 1917 a mass insurrection or a coup d'etat?
 * 54) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Was Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 justified as a means to save American lives?
 * 55) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Were internal or external factors more influential in the formation of the CCP?
 * 56) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">What were the effects of internal resistance to Nazi Germany on the regime’s internal policy, and public perception?
 * 57) <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">What were the key reasons behind Britain declaring the creation of a Jewish homeland within Palestine in 1917?