Human fieldwork- Exeter, Princesshay Flashcards
(21 cards)
Title of Human Fieldwork
Investigating the impact of Princesshay regeneration project on Exeter city centre
Location
Exeter is a city in the SW of England, Devon.
We conducted our fieldwork trip in Exeter CBD central business district ad along the main shopping streets
Hypothesis 1
environmental quality decreases with increased distace from Princesshay
Hypothesis 2
retail value index decreases with distance from Princesshay
Hypothesis 3
footfall decreases with distance from Princesshay
Hypothesis 4
public perception worsens with distance from Princesshay
Theory
It was an Urban regeneration scheme to reverse urban decline and improve the local economy and environment
Why was it suitabel topic for a geographical enquiry?
it links with the urban part of the spec and sufficient data was easily collected in just one day.
Advantages of the location
1- it was busy and popular so we could collect plentiful data in a short period of time
2- it was only 45mins away
Methodology
(ways of primary data collection)
collected data along 4 transects through Exeter’s CBD
Fore street, High street, Princesshay, Sidwell street
risk assessments
road traffic
=collected data in pedestrian areas when possible
=only crossed at designated pedestrian crossings
Data collected
-footfall
-epitome words/public view
-retail value index
-environmental quality
Justify one primary data collection method used in your enquiry
(3 marks)
To answer the hypothesis ‘environmental quality reduces with distance from Princesshay’ I conducted an environmental quality survey.
Although subjective it was appropriate as it generated a numerical value for each of the 4 streets out of 13.
This meant i could compare each site for environmental quality, which was best and worst.
Sampling strategies
Random sampling:
researcher randomly chooses sample from a population
eg asking people their views
+ve can be used in large pop
avoids bias
-ve poor representation of overall population
Stratified sampling:
the sample is split into smaller groups based on characteristics called strata and random sampling is done within the groups and then info used all together
+ve arguably the most unbiased method as true representation of total pop
-ve hard to identify ages and social background for strata sorting
Systematic sampling:
observations taken at regular intervals
+ve good coverage across an area
-ve could be more biased as you select particular points
Continous sampling:
You sample every point along a transect
eg retail value index
+ve ensures complete coverage
-ve can be time consuming
Data presentation techniques
composite bars for environmental quality at each street
located bars for footfall on a map
word clouds showing public perception for each street
chloropleth map showing retail value index
Explain how one data presentation technique helped you to interpret your data
(6)
composite bars: are an effective presentation technique because
-use the same scale which allows total scores to be compared quickly
-more detailed visual comparisons as different elements of environmental quality were colour coded in each bar
located bars: are an effective presentation technique because
-suitable for showing which street had which value on a map and helpful for visually spotting relationship between distance and footfall from Princesshay
-precise numerical data can be calculated using the scale bar and a mean calculated
Word clouds:’’
-size of font = number of responses chosen so easy to indentify the modal response
-convey both -ve and +ve answers for balance
Chloropleth maps for retail value index:’’
-shades of colour for easy visual comparison and pattern spotting
-no need to interpret a detailed scale bar
Assess how effective your presentation technique(s) were in representing the data collected in this enquiry
(6)
Overall, the presentation techniques were generally effective.
Composite bars had 13 different sections, time consuming to draw, high chance of human error when reading the scale bar = incorrect interpretation of results
However they helped show each individual section accurately allowing for comparison of sections not just the total score
Word clouds do not have a scale bar so it is impossible to quantify the number of responses for each word
All words appeared in the same colour so -ve and +ve were harder to identify
However they helped us easily identify the modal word or phrase for each street
Conclusions
Retail value index decreases with distance from Princesshay
DISPROVEN OVERALL
-Princesshay had the second lowest score
footfall decreases with distance from Princesshay
DISPROVEN OVERALL
-Princesshay had the second lowest footfall
Environmental quality decreases with distance from Princesshay
TRUE OVERALL
-Princesshay had the highest score of 70
Public perception worsens with distance from Princesshay
TRUE OVERALL
-The top 4 words for Princesshay were modern, popular, vibrant and convenient all positive!
To what extent did the data collection allow you to reach valid conclusions?
(9)
The data collection allowed me to reach reasonably valid conclusions, but there were some limitations that affected the overall reliability and validity of the enquiry. One issue was the sample size, as only four sites were surveyed and only 10 people asked for public perception. This small number may not fully represent the whole area, making the results less representable.
Another limitation was the type of sampling. We used an opportunity sample for people questionnaires, meaning we only asked those who were available at the time. This could introduce bias, as those willing to stop and answer may not represent the views of all people in the area, reducing the validity of our conclusions about people’s perceptions.
Footfall was also hard to count at the very busy High Street. Allowing for miscounted numbers and overall footfall count.
Despite these issues, the location of the surveys was carefully chosen along a transect at High Street, Princesshay, Fore Street and Sidwell Street allowing us to measure changes in quality from one end of the street to the other. This increased the validity of our conclusion about how environmental quality varied across the area.
However, the time of data collection also introduced error. We collected data during one part of the day per each site (e.g. late morning), so results may have been affected by temporary conditions like weather, limiting reliability.
In conclusion, while there were some flaws in the sampling methods and timing, the enquiry still allowed us to make mostly valid conclusions, especially due to the use of a range of methods
How could it be improved?
Retail value index:
-could’ve agreed upon what each shop category meant before conducting eg what counted as a Department store
Environmental Quality:
-taken photos and annotate to prove scores
-use a noise level app to get quantitative data
Footfall Count:
-conduct more than one 2 minutes counting at each street on more than one day at one time
Epitome words for public perception:
-used stratified sampling and grouped stratas to explore the data and responses by characteristics like age
-ask why they thought that for more detailed responses
Extra facts
Sampled at:
Princesshay
High Street
Sidwell Street
Fore Street
10 people asked per street for public perception out of 20 words
Environmental quality was out of 90
Retail value index scored different shops differently the higher the score the better the shop X by how many there were for an overall score.
Footfall counts lasted 2 mins with one person counting number out and one in.
