*Fieldwork (Paper 3)

Question 1

Identify the 6 stages in a geographical enquiry

Answer 1

1. Question / hypothesis
2. Data collection
3. Data presentation
4. Analysis of data
5. Concluding
6. Evaluating

Question 2

What are the features of a good enquiry question?

Answer 2

• It should be closely linked to your chosen topic of study
• The question is not too broad or too specific
• The question may have a series of sub-questions that will focus your data collection

Question 3

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 3

A statement of what you think you will find.

e.g. ‘The more visitors in a location, the more traffic that will be found’

Question 4

Name the two different types of data that you can collect to help you answer your enquiry question?

Answer 4

• Primary data
• Secondary data

Question 5

What is primary data? Give an example

Answer 5

Data you have collected yourself or as a group e.g. traffic count

Question 6

What is secondary data? Give an example

Answer 6

Information that someone else has collected, that helps you answer your question. e.g. newspaper article, data collected by an agency

Question 7

What is a risk assessment?

Answer 7

An assessment of the potential hazards and risks that you may be exposed to when carrying out your data collection e.g. crossing roads, speaking to members of the public, entering a river

Question 8

Give an example of how you might minimise some risks when carrying out fieldwork

Answer 8

• Always stay in groups
• Carry a map to ensure you do not get lost
• Wearing sensible footwear
• Using relevant safety equipment

Question 9

What is meant by ‘data collection’?

Answer 9

Gathering information that will help you answer your enquiry question. This can be in number form or a verbal (written) format.

Question 10

What is meant by ‘sample size’?

Answer 10

The amount of data sets you will be collecting.

Question 11

How does sample size affect the reliability of your data?

Answer 11

A bigger or more regular sample will improve reliability as you will be able to see if any data stands out / has happened by chance (anomalies)

Question 12

How can you ensure that the data you collect is accurate?

Answer 12

• Take more than one reading and take an average
• Check equipment before it is used to make sure it works
• Get more than one student to record the information

Question 13

What is quantitative data?

Answer 13

Data in numerical form (numbers)

Question 14

What is qualitative data?

Answer 14

Data in word form

Question 15

What are the advantages of collecting quantitative data?

Answer 15

• It can be manipulated and turned into averages / percentages to make analysis easier
• More objective than qualitative

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of collecting qualitative data?

Answer 16

Time consuming to collect Information gathered can be subjective (opinion based)

Question 17

What is a random sample?

Answer 17

Randomly choosing a person to take part in a survey, or picking up a random pebble on the beach.

Question 18

What is a systematic sample?

Answer 18

Coming up with a system that will help you pick your data e.g. choosing every 10th person to take part in a survey or choosing pebbles from the beach at 5m intervals

Question 19

What is a stratified sample?

Answer 19

Creating a sample that is representative of a population. e.g. finding out the proportion of each age group of people that visit a shop, then asking the same proportion of ages in your survey

Question 20

How should you choose your fieldwork location?

Answer 20

• Somewhere that is safe
• A nearby / easy to reach area for each of access
• A site / location where you can investigate your chosen topic e.g. a beach that has groynes will be suitable for coastal management fieldwork

Question 21

How can you record data collected?

Answer 21

• In a tally chart
• In a table
• Using a camera to take photographs
• Field sketches

Question 22

Identify some qualitative data collection methods

Answer 22

• Survey / questionnaire
• Interview
• Photographing the area

Question 23

Identify some quantitative fieldwork data collection

Answer 23

• Traffic count
• Pedestrian count
• Timing velocity
• Measuring distances

Question 24

Identify some methods of data presentation

Answer 24

• Graphs/ charts (line, pie, bar, scatter)
• Maps (proportional symbols, located pie/bar charts, choropleth)
• Tables (tally, raw data)
• Aerial photos
• Annotated photos
• GIS
• Field sketches

Question 25

What do you have to consider when presentating your data accurately?

Answer 25

* Whether the data is continuous or discrete data * Whether raw data or percentages is more useful * Does data need to be compared by location?

Question 26

What is **continuous** data?

Answer 26

Data that does _**not**_ need to fit into certain values e.g. heights

Question 27

What is **discrete** data?

Answer 27

Data that fits into particular categories e.g. number of students in a class

Question 28

What is **GIS**?

Answer 28

Geographical Information System

Question 29

What is data analysis?

Answer 29

Making sense of the data and looking for patterns and anomalies

Question 30

What is an **anomaly**?

Answer 30

Data that stands out / does not fit the pattern

Question 31

How can you **analyse** **quantitative** data?

Answer 31

* Make averages * Find percentages * Look at ranges / median / modal data

Question 32

How can you **analyse** **qualitative** data?

Answer 32

* Coding - highlight common themes in data * Annotate information * Look for common words or phrases * Turn it into quantitative by counting verbal responses * Use a statistical test

Question 33

What is a **conclusion**?

Answer 33

A summary of your findings in line with your initial enquiry question

Question 34

What should your co**n**clusion include?

Answer 34

* Key findings from your data * An explanation of what you found out * Decision as to whether you can prove or disprove your hypothesis

Question 35

What is an **evaluation**?

Answer 35

A critique of what went well in your investigation and what you would do differently

Question 36

What does **validity** mean?

Answer 36

Did your enquiry test what it set out to test?

Question 37

What does **reliability** mean?

Answer 37

Are your results consistent? Would you get the same results if you repeated your survey?

Question 38

What aspects of your enquiry might affect the **quality, reliability and validity** of your results?

Answer 38

* Sample size * Equipment used * Time collection was carried out * Location * Type of data used (source of secondary data) * Sampling method * Frequency of sample

Question 39

How could you **reduce anomalies** in data?

Answer 39

* Take multiple readings and take an average * Carry out tests in multiple sites * Check equipment before use

Question 40

What **factors** might **limit** the **data** you have collected?

Answer 40

* Time data was collected * Limited range of sites used * Data collection methods used