Identifying Stakeholders in an Inquiry Project

students, imagine a new social media app is launched at your school 📱. Some students love it, some teachers worry about distraction, and the app company wants more users. Who should be considered when deciding whether the app is helpful, harmful, or worth changing? That question leads us to stakeholders. In IB Digital Society SL, identifying stakeholders is a key part of the Inquiry Project because it helps you understand who is affected by a digital system, how they are affected, and why their views matter.

What are stakeholders?

A stakeholder is any person, group, or organization that is affected by, has an interest in, or can influence a digital system, issue, or decision. In a digital society, stakeholders are not only the people who directly use a technology. They can also include people who are indirectly affected by it.

For example, if a city installs facial recognition cameras in public spaces, the stakeholders may include:

• residents who are being monitored
• police or security services using the system
• the company that developed the software
• local government officials who approved it
• civil rights groups concerned about privacy
• visitors to the city who are also recorded

This matters because a digital system often has different effects on different groups. One group may benefit, while another may face risk, cost, or unfair treatment.

In the Inquiry Project, identifying stakeholders helps you move from a simple description of a digital issue to a deeper analysis. Instead of asking only “What does this system do?” you also ask “Who does it affect, how, and why?” That is the kind of thinking expected in IB Digital Society SL.

Why stakeholder identification matters in IB Digital Society

The Digital Society course asks students to explore how digital systems shape people and communities. Stakeholder identification is important because it supports balanced, evidence-based inquiry. If you only focus on the most visible users, you may miss important impacts on other groups.

Consider a ride-sharing app 🚗. At first, the obvious stakeholders seem to be passengers and drivers. But there are more:

• taxi drivers who lose business
• city transport planners
• pedestrians and residents affected by traffic
• the app company collecting data
• insurance companies that respond to risk
• lawmakers writing regulations

Each stakeholder may have different goals, concerns, and levels of power. Some may benefit economically, while others may face reduced income, privacy issues, or changes in safety. In IB terms, this helps you examine impacts and implications for people and communities.

Stakeholder analysis also helps with research planning and management. When you know who matters, you can choose better sources, ask better questions, and avoid one-sided conclusions. For example, if your inquiry is about school surveillance technology, you might need sources from students, school leaders, privacy experts, and policy documents. That gives your investigation more depth and credibility.

Types of stakeholders and levels of involvement

Stakeholders can be grouped in different ways. One useful method is to think about primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders.

• Primary stakeholders are directly affected by the digital system. They may use it every day or experience its effects immediately.
• Secondary stakeholders are indirectly affected. They may not use the system themselves, but it changes their work, rights, or environment.
• Tertiary stakeholders are more distant, such as policymakers, regulators, or wider communities affected by social change.

Let’s use online shopping 🛒 as an example.

• Primary stakeholders: customers, delivery workers, warehouse employees
• Secondary stakeholders: local shops, payment companies, advertisers, families of workers
• Tertiary stakeholders: government agencies, labor regulators, environmental groups

Another useful idea is power and influence. Some stakeholders can make decisions, while others have limited control. A company may have high influence because it controls the platform. Users may have high numbers but less power if they cannot change platform rules. Inquiries should notice this imbalance.

You can also think about beneficiaries and those at risk. Sometimes the same stakeholder group can be both. For example, students using learning apps benefit from easy access to resources, but they may also be exposed to data tracking or screen fatigue.

How to identify stakeholders in an inquiry

A strong IB inquiry does not begin with a full answer. It begins with a clear question and a careful process. To identify stakeholders, follow these steps:

1. Define the digital system or issue

Start by naming exactly what you are studying. Is it artificial intelligence in hiring, social media moderation, facial recognition in schools, or mobile banking in rural communities? A clear focus helps you avoid vague stakeholder lists.

2. Ask who uses, controls, or is affected

Look at the system from different angles:

• Who uses it?
• Who created it?
• Who pays for it?
• Who is monitored by it?
• Who benefits financially?
• Who may be excluded or harmed?
• Who can regulate it?

3. Look beyond the obvious

students, one common mistake is listing only direct users. But digital systems often create ripple effects. For example, a streaming platform does not only affect viewers. It also affects musicians, filmmakers, advertisers, internet providers, and cultural trends.

4. Compare stakeholder perspectives

Stakeholders do not all think the same way. A health app may be seen as helpful by doctors, but stressful by users worried about constant tracking. A school may see exam monitoring software as improving fairness, while students may see it as invasive.

5. Organize stakeholders by impact and power

A simple way to analyze them is to place them in a table with categories such as:

• stakeholder group
• role
• positive impacts
• negative impacts
• level of influence
• evidence source

This helps turn a list into analysis.

Example: social media recommendation algorithms

Let’s look at a real-world issue: recommendation algorithms used by social media platforms 📲. These systems decide what content appears on a user’s feed based on data and predictions.

Possible stakeholders include:

• Teen users: They get content tailored to their interests, but may also face addiction, misinformation, or mental health pressure.
• Parents and guardians: They may worry about safety, screen time, or harmful content.
• Platform companies: They benefit from increased engagement and advertising revenue.
• Content creators: They may gain visibility, but also depend on algorithm changes they cannot control.
• Advertisers: They want targeted audiences and measurable results.
• Governments and regulators: They may be concerned with child protection, misinformation, and privacy.
• Educators and schools: They may notice effects on attention, behavior, and learning.
• Wider society: Public debate may be affected by what content becomes popular.

This example shows why stakeholder identification is essential. The algorithm is not just a technical tool. It shapes behavior, opportunity, and public conversation.

In an IB inquiry, you would not stop at naming stakeholders. You would ask how the system affects each one and what evidence supports your claims. For example, studies about screen time, platform design, or user behavior can help you evaluate claims more accurately.

Using evidence to support stakeholder analysis

IB Digital Society SL values evidence-based thinking. Stakeholder identification should not rely on guesses. It should be supported by reliable sources such as research articles, official reports, interviews, policy documents, statistics, or case studies.

For example, if you are investigating online learning platforms, evidence might include:

• student survey data about engagement
• teacher reports on workload
• school policies about data privacy
• company terms of service
• academic studies on digital learning outcomes

When you collect evidence, ask:

• Does this source show who is affected?
• Does it explain the type of impact?
• Is the source trustworthy and current?
• Does it represent multiple viewpoints?

Strong inquiry avoids treating all stakeholder claims as equally reliable. A company statement may describe benefits, but independent research may reveal limitations or unintended effects. Both are useful, but they must be interpreted carefully.

Common mistakes to avoid

When identifying stakeholders, students sometimes make the same errors. Avoid these:

• listing only direct users
• confusing stakeholders with all people in society
• ignoring people with less power
• assuming every stakeholder benefits in the same way
• forgetting organizations and institutions
• using vague labels like “the public” without explanation

Instead, be specific. For example, write “low-income families using affordable internet services” rather than just “users.” Specificity improves the quality of analysis and makes your inquiry easier to manage.

Conclusion

Identifying stakeholders is a foundation of the Inquiry Project in IB Digital Society SL. It helps you understand who is affected by a digital system, how power is distributed, and why different perspectives matter. By carefully identifying direct and indirect stakeholders, using evidence, and comparing viewpoints, you build a stronger inquiry that connects technology to real people and communities 🌍. This skill supports planning, research, analysis, and communication throughout the project. When students can clearly identify stakeholders, students is ready to make more accurate and balanced conclusions about digital systems and their impacts.

Study Notes

• A stakeholder is a person, group, or organization affected by or interested in a digital system.
• Stakeholders can be direct or indirect, and they can have different levels of power and influence.
• Identifying stakeholders helps explain the impacts and implications of digital systems for people and communities.
• In an inquiry, start by defining the digital system, then ask who uses it, who controls it, and who is affected by it.
• Do not focus only on obvious users; include hidden or indirect groups too.
• Use evidence from reliable sources such as research, policies, interviews, and official reports.
• Compare stakeholder perspectives because different groups may experience the same technology in very different ways.
• Good stakeholder analysis supports better research planning, stronger documentation, and more balanced conclusions.
• In IB Digital Society SL, stakeholder identification is a key part of understanding digital systems in real-world contexts.