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Why Study Geography?

Geography IGCSE
Geography IB

IGCSE Geography Textbooks

IGCSE and GCSE Geography Case Studies

IGCSE Settlements and GCSE Settlements

IGCSE Population and GCSE Population
IGCSE Migration and GCSE Migration
IGCSE Rivers and GCSE Rivers
IGCSE Coasts and GCSE Coasts
IGCSE Plate Tectonics and GCSE Plate Tectonics
IGCSE and GCSE Weathering
IGCSE and GCSE Tourism
IGCSE and GCSE Industry
IGCSE and GCSE Agriculture
IGCSE and GCSE Weather, Climate and Ecosystems
IGCSE and GCSE Energy, Water and the Environment
IGCSE and GCSE Geography Skills (Paper 2)
IGCSE and GCSE Geography Coursework (Paper 4)

IB Geography Textbooks and Wider Reading and Viewing

IB Geography Case Studies

IB Core Themes - Patterns and Change

IB Populations in Transition
IB Disparities in Wealth and Development
IB Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability
IB Patterns in Resource Consumption

IB Optional Topics
Hazards and disasters - risk assessment and response
Freshwater - issues and conflict
Leisure, sport and tourism

IB Global Interactions - HL extension

Measuring global interactions
Changing space-the shrinking world
Economic interactions and flows
Environmental change
Sociocultural exchanges
Political outcomes
Global interactions at the local level

IB Geography Internal Assessment

IGCSE and GCSE Geography Coursework

(Paper 4)
IGCSE and GCSE Geography Coursework
(Paper 4)
Paper 4 is the alternative to coursework paper that is worth 27.5% of your final IGCSE grade.
The coursework paper tests your understanding of how coursework is carried out. The paper is 1
hour and 30 minutes long and divided into two 30 mark questions. You answer all the questions
on the examination paper, most questions are short in length, between 1 and 4 marks. The paper
requires a combination of knowledge and skills. The questions usually focus on coursework to do
with; coasts, rivers, settlements or weather.

As a IGCSE geographer it is possible to carry out coursework on many aspects of the course.
Possible topics and areas of study may include:

Rivers

Changes in river velocity from source to mouth

Changes in load (shape and size) from source to mouth

Changes in channel depth, width, cross-section and wetted perimeter from source to
mouth

Changes in discharge from source to mouth

Changes across a meanders cross section

Changes in river gradient from source to mouth

Changes in valley size and gradient from source to mouth

Changes in land use a long a river

Changes in pollution along a rivers' course (you need proper equipment for this)

Coasts

Changes in vegetation (cover and variety) moving inland

Changes in beach profile and sand dune profile

Speed of longshore drift

Changes in land use

Changes in defences (compare to land use)

Changes in beach or dune material (size or shape)

Settlements

Changes in land use

Changes in traffic (maybe CBD to rural-urban fringe)

Changes in pedestrians

Number and type of tourists

Changes in the quality of the environment or pollution levels (may look at the impact of
industry)

Changes in globalisation

Changes in cost of products

Comparison to Burgess or Hoyt Model

Changes in wealth or population density (will have to use some secondary data)

Sphere of influences of settlements or services

Weather

Changes in temperature throughout the day or between seasons

Changes in rainfall

Changes in humidity

Changes in hours of sunshine or cloud cover

Changes in wind speed and wind direction

Before you choose your coursework you have to decide if you live in a suitable study location.
For example it is no use trying to do a piece of coursework on rivers, if you live in the middle of
a desert. Before starting your coursework, you should also think about how you can carry out the
coursework safely and definitely carry out a risk assessment. You can make your coursework
safer by doing the following:

Protection from the weather (waterproof jacket, umbrella, hat, suncream)

Sensible dress (remember you will be representing your school, but you should also wear
clothes that don't draw attention to yourself

Always carry out coursework in groups

Always tell an adult or teacher where you area carrying out coursework

Always carry a mobile phone with you

Never do coursework near a river or the sea without an adult or teacher and without them
checking that it is safe

Carry out coursework in day light and wear reflective clothes

Check that your study area is safe. For example it wouldn't be safe walking around
downtown San Salvador

Don't display valuables making you more vulnerable to crime e.g. if you have a camera
or a phone keep it out of sight

Introduction

Specification: Formulating aims and hypotheses: Candidates should be familiar with

hypotheses as statements that form the basis of Coursework assignments. The hypotheses may
investigate a geographical concept e.g. A CBD has the highest concentration of comparison
shops. Collecting relevant data, analysis and drawing conclusions using the data as evidence can
test these.

Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a prediction or statement that you make before your data collection.
A hypothesis is normally based on theory. During your investigation you attempt to prove or
disprove your hypothesis. A piece of coursework may have more than one hypothesis and it does
not matter if you prove or disprove it.

A hypothesis should always be SMART. If your hypotheses are not SMART then it can be
impossible to prove or disprove them.

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Time-related

SMART hypotheses may include:

The width of a river will increase as you move from the source to the mouth

The amount of traffic will increase as you move from the rural-urban fringe to the CBD

The amount of vegetation will increase as you move inland from the sea (distance =
200metres)

The hottest part of the day will be between 1200 and 1400.

Data Collection

Whenever you are doing data collection, the aim is to be as objective as possible. Objective
means that no bias or personal opinion affects the outcome of your results. The opposite to be
objective is being subjective. Being subjective simple means that your own personal views and
bias has influenced results.

Objective: This is when data collection is not influenced by people's personal opinion. This is
very hard to achieve because even the design of data collection forms are influenced by people's
opinion. However, it is possible to try be as objective as possible by following a sampling
technique, collecting data in groups and following the methodology closely.

Subjective: This is when your personal opinion has an influence on the outcome of the data
collection. Everyone has personal bias, so this is not necessarily bad, but you should recognise
this in your methodology and evaluation.
Primary data: Any data that is personally collected by you (this does not mean collecting off the
internet). Primary data may include traffic counts, pedestrian counts, environmental indexes,
questionnaires or land use surveys.

Secondary data: Any data that has been collected by someone else. Secondary data collection
maybe found in books, on the internet, in academic journals, etc. Probably the most useful
secondary data is census data.

Census: The census is a survey carried out by nearly all countries every 10 years. The census is a
very detailed survey that is compulsory for everyone to fill in. It includes a lot of data including
family size, income, house size and car ownership.

Primary data Secondary data

It is up to date (current)

You know how the data has You can study temporal changes e.g.
been collected i.e. what how population has changed over a
technique number of years

It only includes data that is It can be quicker, especially if the

Advantages relevant to your data is on the internet
coursework
You can study a larger area
It only covers your study
area It may include data that you can not
obtain personally e.g. salaries
It is collected in the format
that you want

Disadvantages The data may include some It is out of date, especially if it has
personal bias been printed in a book.

Data collection can be time There might more information than

consuming you need

It can be expensive to The information may include a

travel to places to collect larger area than your study area
data
You may not know how the data
 It is hard to study temporal
changes
was collected and who collected the
data
Some data might be
unavailable or too
The data might be in the wrong
dangerous to collect
format e.g. in a graph and not raw
figures
Only possible to cover a
small area

Quantitative data: This is any data that involves figures. Quantitative data is very easy to
present and analyse. Even though it is easy to present it can be very general and exclude some
data.

Qualitative data: This is is more written data or even photographs or pictures. It tends to me
individual and personal, but it can be very hard to present and analyse. Qualitative data often
comes about as the results of interviews with open-ended questions.

Pilot Survey: This is basically a test that you carry out before your data collection. It is very
important that you test your data collection forms to ensure that you ask all the right questions
and your collection forms contain all the right categories. It is too expensive and too time
consuming to going and collect data a second time, if you missed it the first time.

Sampling: As a Geography student you will only have a limited amount of time and money to
carry out your coursework. Therefore it will probably be necessary to only investigate a sample.
A sample is simply a section or part of the entire study area or study population. The two main
types of sampling are; systematic and random.

Systematic Sampling: This is when you collect data in a regular pattern. For example you may
ask a questionnaire to every 10th person that passes you, or you might only record the land use
every 50 metres or every 5th building. When recording changes in river depth, beach profile or
changes in vegetation you may only take a sample every 5 metres.

Random Sampling: This is when every area or person in your study area has an equal chance of
being selected or asked. Random sampling can be done by pulling names out of a hat, by using a
random number table or a random number generator on a calculator.

Advantages Disadvantages
 Because you are
following a pattern you Because you are selecting the systematic
will get better coverage of technique, there is some bias
an area or sample group. (subjectivity). You decide how often to
take a sample.
Systematic Even though you pick the
Sampling technique, once it is Even with a systematic sample you may
picked, there is no bias in end up with an unrepresentative sample
who gets selected. e.g. you ask every 10th person to fill in a
questionnaire, but every 10th person turns
It is very simple to out to be female.
understand and carry out.

Every person or every

Because it is totally random, results
location/place has a
maybe completely random and not
Random completely equal chance
representative e.g. when randomly
Sampling of being selected
selecting names out of hat to ask
questionnaires too, you only pick females
It is quick and simple

Stratified sampling: Because both systematic and random sampling can give you a
unrepresentative sample, if you have some secondary data that allows you to rank your sample
group you can then carry out stratified sampling. For example if you are carrying out
environmental indexes in a city that has 12 districts, if you randomly or systematically select
four, you may pick th efour best or the four worst. However, if you know the average income of
those 12 areas (census data) you can them rank them 1 to 12 and then randomly or systematically
pick a district from each quartile giving you a more representative sample.

Specification: Enquiry skills to collect data: Questions on this paper will test knowledge and
application of the methodology used in the following range of data collection enquiry skills.

Specification: Questionnaires Questionnaires can be oral or written to gain information from

an individual or a group of individuals. Suitable themes in the syllabus where questionnaires may
be appropriately studied include spheres of influence, use of services, shopping habits, a farm
study, a factory or industrial study, leisure activities, tourism, or attitudes of the public to
developments associated with resource development. Consideration should be given to factors
influencing the successful design of questionnaires e.g. layout, format of questions, the
appropriate wording of questions and the number of questions. The practical considerations of
conducting a questionnaire e.g. the sampling methods, pilot survey, and location of survey
should also be discussed.
When carrying out a questionnaire or interview you must do the following:

Decide on your questions (what do you need to find out and what type of question are
you going to ask)

Whether to do the questions orally or give them in written form (you may have to think
about translations)

How you are going to pilot (test) your questions

How you are going to record the answers (record them, write them down, trying to
remember is unreliable)

How you are going to sample (random, systematic, stratified)

Remember that you are representing yourself and the school - be polite

Remember people don't have to answer questions and they may be sensitive about some
e.g. age groups and income groups.

When actually designing your questions you have two real choice; open or closed:

Open ended questions: These are questions that have infinite numbers of answers. The
respondent has no restriction on how they might answer e.g. What have you enjoyed about El
Salvador?

Closed questions: These are when there is a limited number of responses. These questions are
often multiple choice in style e.g. What have you enjoyed about El Salvador? A: The people B:
The weather C: The beaches D: The Colonial Villages E: Other

Advantages Disadvantages

Open ended You are getting the Some responses might not be relevant
questions respondents personal to your research
opinion. They are not
limited in their response. Respondents may not understand the
question and give you an irrelevant
response
 Results are very hard to analyse using
graphs or tables

The results lack personal opinion. They

can be very generalised
All answers will be relevant
to your research
You are nearly always forced to have
Closed
an "other" box meaning you don't
questions The results are easy to
know what the respondent thinks
analyse using graphs and
tables
Your personal opinion has been placed
on the questions (subjective).

Specification: Observation Examples of using observations as an enquiry skill to collect data

include the recording of land-use in an urban area or observations of river or coastal features.
Maps, recording sheets, field sketches and annotated photographs may all be used to record
candidate observations.

Land use: Land use survey are a very common form of data collection. When carrying out a land
use survey you first need to think of appropriate categories e.g. restaurants, clothes shops, banks,
houses, etc. You then then need to decide whether you are just looking at total numbers or spatial
distribution. If you are just looking at total numbers then you can make a simple tally chart, if
you look at spatial distribution you need a base map and an appropriate key. When doing a land
use survey you also need to decide if you are surveying every building or just taking a sample.

Land use Tally

Land Use Tally Total

Clothes shops (men and women) e.g. GAP or ZARA IIII 4 (four)
Banks and building societies e.g. HSBC II 2 (two)
Restaurants (cafes and restaurants) e.g. Starbucks III 3 (three)
Shoe shops I 1 (one)
Other III 3 (three)
Land Use Map
Land Use Key
Clothes shops CS
Banks and Building societies BB
Restaurants and cafes RC
Shoe shops SS
Other O

Blank Map To Carry Out Survey

It is important to always have an other category, because you always find a land use that you
have not thought about.

For information on when and how to use field sketches, sketch maps and maps refer to the
IGCSE skills page: IGCSE Skills (Paper 2)

Photographs are an increasingly common form of data presentation. Using photos is now a lot
easier in the digital era when you can crop, manipulate and annotate photographs. However, a
common mistake is still to include photos that aren't relevant to answer your hypothesis. Many
people include photographs that aren't even referred to in their text and are not properly labelled.
Advantages of Photographs Disadvantages of Photographs

They are more accurate than field

People often include photos that are not relevant
sketches
e.g. a photo of their friends
They can be good for showing
People forget to label, annotate or refer to
data collection techniques e.g.
photos, which then makes them irrelevant.
measuring a river's load
People often only photograph the nice things
They can support data collection
e.g. pretty view and forget the more ugly areas
findings e.g. they can show an
that are just as important e.g. area of pollution
example of a poor environment
They can often contains too much information
They can show temporal changes,
e.g. people and vehicles
especially if you can find
historical photos.
Because they are two dimensional, depth can be
deceptive
You can annotate and label them.

Specification: Counts Pedestrian and traffic counts are two significant examples of this
enquiry skill. Appropriate methods for recording the counts should be discussed including the
layout of recording sheets, instructions and the necessary information required to identify the
sheet following the count (i.e. time, date, location and name of recorder).

The two most common types of count are traffic count and pedestrian count. When designing
traffic and pedestrian counts keep the forms simple. Have an area for the tally and an area to add
up the total. It also is very important to have a place to mark down the date, time and location of
the count. This is important for when you return to the classroom and start data presentation and
making comparisons. When ever doing a count you need to find a safe location and carry it out
for 10 minutes. If you are comparing different locations you should and do the counts at the same
time, this makes comparisons fair. For example if you did one traffic count at 08.00am when
everyone was travelling to work and one at 11.00am when everyone is at work then the
comparison is unfair. Tallies are usually used when doing counts because they are quick and
simple.

DATE:
TIME:
LOCATION:
Total (add up your tally after you have done the data
Tally
collection

Cars 102

Bikes
Buses and
coaches
Lorries (trucks)
Taxis
Other
TOTAL
As well traffic and pedestrian counts environmental and globalisation indexes are also very
common and simple forms of data collection. Indexes normally use bi-polar scoring. This simply
means the score goes from negative to positive with 0 being the average. Indexes are quite
subjective (one person might think one crisp packet is a lot of litter while enough might think it
is hardly ant litter), therefore, to keep the indexes consistent for comparisons you should do them
in groups and one group should do all the same index e.g. group 1 only does environmental
indexes. Like with counts, it is very important that you write down the date, time and location of
the index and that where possible indexes are done at the same time.

Environmental index: This is a type of survey that looks at the quality of the environment. Your
survey may focus on any aspect of the environment e.g. air or noise pollution, greenery, litter,
graffiti.

Globalisation index: This is a type of survey that looks at how globalised a settlement or a
section of a settlement is. The survey make look at any aspect of globalisation including
language, signage, businesses and people.

With both environmental and globalisation indexes you use bi-polar scoring. Once you have
completed the index you add up the marks to give an area an overall score.

DATE:
TIME:
LOCATION:
-2 (minus -1 (minus 0 +1 (plus +2 (plus
two) one) (zero) one) two)
Lots of litter * No litter
Lots of noise e.g. cars,
* No noise (silence)
factories and people
Broken windows and Newly painted and
*
graffiti new windows
No greenery, only Lots of trees, parks
*
concrete and green areas
TOTAL SCORE = 2

Specification: Measurement When recording measurements, due consideration should be

given to planning the layout of the recording sheet, the location of instruments and the sampling
methods adopted to provide reliable data. Knowledge of the equipment used in measurement is
required such as the quadrat, the clinometer and the pebbleometer or callipers. Candidates should
be familiar with river measurements of channel width, depth, speed of flow and the size and
shape of bedload; beach studies of beach profile, the size and shape of pebbles and the
movement of beach material and weather study instruments closely linked to Theme 2.2 as well
as measurement techniques associated with human fieldwork such as survey strategies and
pedestrian/traffic counts.

Weather Equipment

EQUIPMENT NAME PHOTO DESCRIPTION (WHAT DOES IT MEASURE)

 A stevenson screen is basically a white louvered
wooden box. The box is designed to contain some
weather equipment like thermometers and barometers.
The stevenson screen is white to reflect sunlight and
Stevenson Screen has slats to allow air to circulate easily. The stevenson
should be placed above the ground and away from the
buildings. The idea is for the weather instruments to
take accurate readings of the air, rather than direct
sunlight or heat from the ground or from buildings.
Barometers are used to measure air pressure. Air
pressure is normally measured in millibars. Barometers
are normally kept inside stevenson screens to keep
Barometer them safe. A barometer has a movable needle (pointer).
The pointer can be moved to the current reading so that
you can then make a comparison with the reading from
the following day.
A maximum and minimum thermometer records the
maximum temperature of the day and the minimum
temperature of the day (diurnal range). A
maximum/minimum thermometer contains a mixture
of mercury and alcohol. The mercury sits in the u-bend
of the thermometer. The bulb at the top of the tube
Max./Min. reading the minimum temperature contains alcohol and
Thermometer the bulb at the top of the tube reading the maximum
(sometimes called a temperature contains a vacuum. On the minimum side
Six's thermometer the expansion of the mercury is restricted by the
after its inventor) contracting alcohol, on the maximum side the
expanding mercury can expand more freely into the
vacuum. At any given time both thermometers should
record the same temperature. However, during the day
they would have recorded the maximum and minimum
temperature - a steel marker should indicate these
temperatures.
Wet/Dry Bulb A hygrometer measures the humidity of the air.
Thermometer Humidity is the amount of moisture (water vapour) in
(hygrometer) the air. A hygrometer has two thermometers, a dry one
and a wet. Humidity is measured by using a table that
looks at the difference between the wet bulb and the
dry bulb. A hygrometer can also be used to find dew
point. There is a difference between the dry and wet
bulb thermometers because of latent heat created
during the process of evaporation.
 Rain gauges are used to measure rainfall. Rainfall is
normally measured in millimetres. Rain gauges should
Rain gauge be placed on grass, because if they are placed on
concrete, extra water can splash in. Rain gauges should
also be checked regularly to avoid evaporation.

Wind vanes are used to check the direction of the wind.

Compass points are used to give wind direction. Wind
is measured in the direction that the wind is coming
Wind Vane from. Wind vanes are often placed on top of buildings
so that they are fully exposed to the wind. When using
a wind vane you need to use a compass to make sure
that it is properly aligned.
Anemometers measure wind speed. Wind speed is
normally measured in mph or kph, but can also be
measured in m/s (metres a second). Digital
Anemometer
anemometers are very accurate, but the more basic
plastic ones that many schools have aren't very good or
accurate at recording light winds.
It is also possible to count day light hours, sunshine
hours or cloud cover. To Calculate day light hours you
need to record the time between sun rise and sun set.
To Calculate sun shine hours is a lot harder, because
you have to time every time the sun comes out
(stopwatch). To calculate cloud cover a mirror is often
Cloud Cover used. You divide the mirror into squares and then place
the mirror on the ground. The mirror will reflect the
clouds and you can count the number of squares
covered or partially covered by cloud. You can do this
as a percentage or convert to oktas which is the normal
measurement of cloud cover. You have to take several
readings to avoid anomalous results.

Other Fieldwork Equipment

Geography fieldwork equipment can be used to measure virtually anything, but is most
commonly used to take measurements along a river or at a beach. Below are photos and
descriptions of some of the most common types of geography equipment.
EQUIPMENT
PHOTO DESCRIPTION
NAME
A quadrat is normally used for measuring vegetation cover. A
quadrat is normally 50cm2 and divided into 100 small
squares. By placing the quadrat over an area of vegetation
you can calculate the area covered in vegetation or calculate
Quadrat the percentages of different vegetation types. Quadrats are
also sometimes used for randomly selecting river load or
beach material. You can put the quadrat over the area you
want to sample and then using a random number table or
calculator, select a square to collect the sample from.

These are used for measuring medium distances (commonly

they go up to 30 or 50 metres). They are very good for
Tape Measure
measuring the width of rivers, where one student can stand
on either bank.

A metre rule is used for measuring short distances.

Commonly they are used for measuring the depth of rivers.
Metre Rule
Plastic metre rules are great for this because they float if you
drop them.

These are used for measuring much longer distances. You

walk with a trundle wheel in front of you, each click
Trundle Wheel
represents one metre. You can sometimes alter trundle wheel
so that they click every 10 centimeters.

Callipers are used to measure the width, depth or length of

small objects like load. You place the object to be measured
inside the calliper and then close the calliper and read off the
Callipers
measurement (normally centimetres or millimetres) because
the object is small. Callipers are great for recording changes
in a river's load or changes in beach material.
 Clinometers are used for measuring slope angle (gradient).
They are normally used in conjunction with ranging poles.
You place one ranging pole at the top of a slope and one at
Clinometer the bottom. You then look through the clinometer measuring
the angle from one ranging pole to another ranging pole. To
get an accurate angle, you normally take an up reading and a
down reading.

Ranging poles, look like a javelin and are normally used for
Ranging Pole measuring slope angle with a clinometer. However, they can
also be used for measuring things like the depth of a river.

Metal chains are very good at measuring the wetted perimiter

of rivers. The wetted perimiter is the total length of the bed
and the two banks. Metal chains are good at measuring this
Metal Chain
because they sink and adopt the shape of the wetted
perimiter. Once your chain has adopted the shape you can
then pull the chain out of the river and measure its length.
Flowmeters are used for measuring the velocity of rivers.
They have a small propeller which you place just under the
surface of the water. Depending on the speed of the propeller
a small digital read out then gives the speed of the river. If
you don't have a flowmeter you can still measure river
velocity by using a floating object e.g. table tennis ball, a stop
Flowmeter
watch and tape measure. You can measure out a distance e.g.
10 metres and then time how long it takes the table tennis ball
to travel 10 metres. You can then use the formula speed =
distance/time to calculate velocity. This latter method is not
as accurate because the table tennis ball will be slowed
because of friction with the air.

Stopwatches are used in lots of different data collection

Stopwatch techniques e.g. traffic counts and measuring river velocity.
Stopwatches simply measure a period of time.
 Compasses are very simply used for working out direction.
Compass They might be used for measuring the direction of a wind
vane or the direction of a river.

Gradeometers are great for measuring the angle of small

slopes. You place the gradeometer on the slope, as the legs
Gradeometer
adjust the slope you can simply read the slope angle, using
the protractor in the top corner.

Roundness index is basically used to measure the shape of an

object. There are a number of different roundness index, but
Roundness
most go from a scale of very angular to very rounded.
Index
Roundness index can be used to look at changes in a river's
load or changes in beach material.

A very basic device for measuring the size and shape of

Pebbleometer
material found on a beach or in a river.

Infiltrometers are used to measure infiltration rates of

different surfaces. You basically place the infiltrometer on a
Infiltrometer
surface (making sure the seal is secure) and then fill it with
water and time how long the water takes to infiltrate.

Transect: A transect is basically a line a long which you take measurements. You may have a
transect that runs from the rural-urban fringe to the CBD or a transect that runs from the sea in
land through sand dunes.

Methodology
In a real piece of coursework, you would explain how all your data was collected. In your
description you would probably contain the following information:

Date, time and location of data collection

Group size

Description and copy of data collection forms used e.g. questionnaires or counts

Explanation of how the forms were used e.g. sample size, count period, count technique,
etc.

Description of equipment and an explanation of its use.

Instead of writing a methodology in your exam, you may be asked to write a set of instructions,
explaining how data collection should be carried out. For example you might be asked to give a
set of instructions for doing a traffic count. You might say:

Find a safe location near the road your are counting traffic

Count the traffic in both directions for a 10 minute period

A tally should be used for counting because this is easy and quick

At the end of 10 minutes count up the totals for each type of vehicle.

You may also be asked about how your data collection could be improved. Improvements may be
made in some of the following ways:

Do counts more regularly e.g. every one or two hours

Do counts, surveys or indexes in more locations

Do counts, surveys and indexes on different days of the week (including weekends)

Get two groups doing the same survey, index or count so that an average may be taken
Data Presentation

Specification: Data presentation techniques: A knowledge of the illustrative techniques to

present data across the topics for Paper 4 is required. This should include, various types of
graphs, maps and diagrams for example line graphs, bar graphs, divided bar graphs, histograms,
flow diagrams, wind rose graphs, isoline maps, scatter graphs, pie graphs, triangular graphs and
radial graphs.

You will probably be asked to complete a graph, diagram or table in the coursework
examination. Therefore you should remember the same equipment as paper 2:

Pencil

Ruler

Eraser

Sharpener

Protractor

Compass

Calculator

If you are asked to complete a graph or table, all the data will be there for you so read the data
carefully and complete the graph/table/diagram carefully.

You may also be asked the advantages (strengths) and disadvantages (weaknesses) of a particular
data presentation technique. Strengths and weaknesses may include:

Strengths (advantages) Weaknesses (disadvantages)

Shows spatial distribution e.g. dot map Can disguise intra-region or intra-country
variations e.g. choropleth map
Shows variations between regions and
 countries e.g. choropleth map

Visually interesting (interesting colours,

Hard to see trends and anomalies
symbols)
Very complicated to read
Very bold and clear
Symbols take up to much room
Easy to understand

Clearly shows trends and anomallies

For further information on different data presentation techniques go the skills page of the wiki:
IGCSE Skills (Paper 2)

Data Analysis

Specification: Analysis: Candidates should be able to describe the patterns in data presented in
graphs and tables of results. Reference to relevant geographical knowledge and understanding is
often required in the interpretation of the data. Practice of this skill will improve success in Paper
4 questions.

You maybe asked to do some basic data analysis of graphs, tables, maps, photographs or
sketches. When doing data analysis remember the following:

Look for trends and correlations (if there is not a overall trend, look for smaller trends)

Look for anomalies (things that don't fit the general trend)

When ever you refer to trend and anomalies you must support with evidence e.g. facts
and figures from graph or table.

Try and explain trends (refer back to theory or other information that you have
discovered in your investigation)

Try and explain anomalies

Conclusion and Evaluation

Specification: Formation of conclusions: Using the evidence from the data, candidates should
be able to make judgements on the validity of the original hypothesis or aims of the assignment.
Reference is also required of the reliability of the collected data and a critical evaluation of the
chosen data collection methods.

Conclusion: This is basically a summary of your investigation. If you are asked to write a
conclusion remember the following:

Refer back to original hypothesis

Use some data to support your findings

Refer to theory (if mentioned in introduction) - do your findings agree or disagree with
theory

State what you have learnt from your investigation

Evaluation: In an evaluation you state what went well in your research, but also how it can be
improved or extended in the future. If you are asked to write an evaluation, think about the
following:

What went well (keep this brief)

Any problems with data collection e.g. bad weather, missing data, sampling technique,
questions, data collection form

Data that could be useful in the future e.g. secondary data from government, more
questionnaires (bigger sample)

Additional hypothesis that you could have used

Problems with time or money that could be changed in the future