Supporting Documents
The evidence base for your research. Aim for five.
The supporting documents sit in your appendix and form the evidential foundation of your IA. They are not just references: they are the raw material you will actually analyse. The examiner will check them. Every factual claim in your commentary should trace back to one of these documents.
The rules
- 3 to 5 documents - aim for 5. Five is almost always better than four or three. More documents means more evidence to draw on, more perspectives, and stronger breadth for Criterion B. Only go lower if the documents you have are genuinely stronger without the extras. Note: fewer than three or more than five results in a score of only 1 mark for Criterion B, regardless of quality.
- Published within the last three years of your submission date. Check the date on every document.
- Primary and/or secondary. You can rely on primary, secondary, or both - but in our experience it is best to have a strong base of secondary resources.
- Balanced documents. They should say different things, present a variety of perspectives, give different types of information, and come from multiple sources. Five documents that all make the same point are no stronger than one.
- Directly relevant to your RQ. If a document does not help you answer the research question, it should not be in your appendix.
Primary vs. secondary sources
- Interview with a manager, employee, or customer
- Survey you designed and distributed
- Company document obtained directly (price list, internal report)
- Field observation notes
- Personal communication from the business
- News article from a reputable outlet
- Company annual report or sustainability report
- Industry market research report
- Academic journal article
- Government or NGO data
- Transcript of a video/audio file (max one per IA)
You can rely on primary, secondary, or both. All-secondary IAs are perfectly acceptable - what matters is that the documents are balanced, relevant, and give you enough to actually analyse.
What makes a strong supporting document?
- It contains specific, usable data: numbers, quotes, decisions, timelines
- It is from a credible, identifiable source
- It is clearly dated within the three-year window
- It relates directly and specifically to your research question - not just your topic in general
- It would be difficult to explain your analysis without it
- It is under five pages. If a document is longer than five pages, trim it down to the relevant sections before including it in your appendix. You only need the parts you actually use.
- The relevant parts are highlighted. Anywhere in a document that you refer to in your commentary should be highlighted so the examiner can see exactly where your evidence comes from.
Common mistakes
Document Treasure Hunt
You are not finalising your document set here. The goal is to build a provisional list of candidates so you have more than enough to choose from later. Aim to find at least one document for each target below. Write the source, date, and a one-sentence note on what it contains.
Your provisional research question: ___________________________________________
A news article
A report from a reputable outlet covering something that has happened to or around your business recently.
Company-produced document (not financial statements)
Something directly from the business: annual report narrative, sustainability report, investor presentation, or press release.
Financial statements
Income statement, balance sheet, or cash flow statement. Listed companies publish these publicly. For private companies, look for reported figures in databases or news coverage.
Numbers someone else has given about this company
External figures from an analyst report, market research data, consumer survey results, or a ranking that includes your company.
Industry or market-level source
A market research report, trade association data, industry overview, or competitor analysis that gives context for the company's position and decisions.
Two documents that show things in a different light
These should complicate the picture. Find sources that raise concerns, challenges, or perspectives that contradict or sit in tension with your other evidence.
A source from outside your country
A source from a different country or market, to test whether your research question is locally specific or part of a wider pattern.
Other documents that do not fit the above
Government regulations, NGO reports, academic studies, court documents, staff review platforms, or interview/podcast transcripts. Anything that gives your IA an angle others will not have.
Locking in your final five
Once you have a provisional list, do two checks before you commit.
Check 1: Balance. Look at your five documents together. Do they give balance across these three dimensions?
- The types of information they provide (financial data, stakeholder views, market data, company narrative...)
- The sources they come from (not all from the company's own PR)
- The perspectives they offer (do some support, some challenge, some complicate your argument?)
Five documents that all make the same point are no stronger than one. The examiner is looking for breadth and range.
Check 2: The highlight test. For each document, open it and highlight every part you will actually quote or reference in your IA. Then copy those highlights into the relevant section of your IA plan. Ask yourself: have I only highlighted five or eight sentences from this document? If so, it is not a real supporting document - it is a crutch. A genuine supporting document underpins a significant part of your analysis. Based on this exercise, which five documents are truly essential to your argument?