KS4 - Unfamiliar Fieldwork

LO: To identify and evaluate the use of unseen fieldwork strategies.

Key Terms:
• Enquiry Question = The question we were trying to answer by doing
the fieldwork.
• Data collection methods = The way in which we collected the data.
EG. Measuring width, depth and velocity.
• Data presentation methods = the type of graphs we used to present
the data. EG. Bar, scatter, maps etc.
• Accurate conclusions = When data is collected in the correct way that
make what we find to be trustworthy.
• Reliable conclusions = When there is enough data collected in an
accurate way so we can trust the results.
Risk Assessment:
Risk assessments are essential to identify hazards and risks that may potentially cause harm to people.
There are a variety of risk assessments used across different industries/education tailoring specific needs
and control measures.

Example of a risk assessment:

Risk assessment
Risk of powerful water and risk All wore wellies and were told not to go in deep
River currents of slipping over. parks of the river. Stay in groups.

Danger of falling over due to All wearing sensible footwear. Not running and
Uneven ground uneven footpaths. walking carefully over large rocks.

Wet weather is dangerous due Students advised to bring plenty of water and sun
to slippery groynes etc. Hot cream if the weather forecast is hot. If the weather
Weather weather also poses the risk of forecast is wet, students are advised to bring
dehydration. appropriate clothing and footwear.

Getting lost in new Staying in groups. Carrying a phone and a map in

Unfamiliar areas environments. case you do get lost.

Getting ran over by vehicles. Use pedestrian crossings only when crossing the
Traffic
road.
Data collection…
• To carry out a fieldwork enquiry, a geographer needs to collect data in
order to prove or disprove a hypothesis.
• Data is information collected in its raw form such as numbers, thoughts
and pictures about a place, issue or problem. Geographers can collect
two types of data in their fieldwork enquiry: primary data and
secondary data.
• In an exam you may be given a hypothesis or geographical enquiry
question and asked to explain what a suitable data collection method
would be for the fieldwork.
Data collection…
1-Primary data = data you have collected yourself.

Examples:
Physical = River depth / width / velocity / discharge
• Pebble size / beach gradient / pebble roughness
• Photographs

• Human = Weather data Advantages Disadvantages

• Erosion rates • Collect yourself –

reliable data.
• May be bias or
inaccurate due to
• OS maps – relief of the land / cliff locations • Greater depth and
understanding of
different
opinions/perceptions.
results. • Time consuming.
Data collection…
2-Secondary data = Data collected by someone else

Examples:
• Physical = Weather data
• Erosion rates
Advantages Disadvantages
• OS maps – relief of the land / cliff locations • Technology advances • Data can be out of
= easy to collect. date.
• Wide range of • Data can be
• Human = Census data resources available.
•
incorrect/false.
Data can be
• House price data manipulated.

• Crime statistics
• OS map – locations of services / houses / roads / buildings
Data collection…
3-Quantitative data = Data that is statistical / numbers.
Examples:
• Physical = River depth / width / velocity / discharge
• Pebble size / beach gradient
• Weather data
• Erosion rates

• Human = Environmental quality survey

• Traffic counts
• Pedestrian counts
• House price data
• Crime statistics
Data collection…
4-Qualitative data = Data that is descriptive
Examples:
• Physical = Photographs
• Pebble roughness
• OS maps

• Human = Interviews
• Questionnaires
• OS maps
• Photographs
Data presentation…
• Data presentation is the process of communicating the results of
data analysis using visual aids, such as graphs, charts, and
dashboards.
• When you have collected your fieldwork data you need to present your
findings in a way that makes it easy to analyse and point out trends. The
data you will have collected will either be quantitative data or qualitative
data. Quantitative data records quantities (e.g. numbers, sizes,
frequencies).
Quantitative data:
Data Presentation Advantages/Disadvantages Image

Bar charts/graphs are used to show Adv:

the frequency (amount) of something • Easy to complete, compare data and
for different categories e.g. the number visual.
of people using different types of Disadv:
transportation. • Does not show causes of trends.

Scatter graphs are used if two sets of data Adv:

are being presented to show a relationship • Shows correlation.
or link between the sets of data. • Visual and easy to complete.
Disadv:
• Can be difficult to read.
• Does not explain anomalies.
Pie charts can be used to show the Adv:
amount that different categories • Visual and good for display.
contribute to an overall total. • Shows range of data.
Disadv:
• May be confusing due to smaller
amounts. (17.5%)
Frequently asked questions…
• What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative data?
• What is an example of a graph or chart that could be used to present
quantitative data and why should you use it?
• What is an example of a way of presenting quantitative data and why
should you use it?
Sampling strategies…
Sampling Strategies
Advantages Disadvantages
Random Sampling • Not bias – each site has an • Sites can get clustered together
(Randomly choosing sites equal chance of being picked. meaning data collection isn’t
to collect data) • Can easily be done with a representative
large area • May lead to sites that are
inaccessible

Systematic Sampling • Gives a good representation • Can be time consuming

(picking sites every __ of an area. • Can be bias as not all sites have an
metres) • Easier to do than random equal chance of being selected.
sampling • May lead to sites that are
inaccessible

Stratified Sampling • Flexible – fits with a lot of • Not suitable for something like a
(picking sites by topic) different enquiries questionnaire
• Gives a good comparison of • Could lead to bias from the person
different areas. (Eg. Upper, picking the sites
middle and lower course)
Analysing data…
ANALYSING DATA
Add all data together and divide by the number of
Mean
values.
Put the data in numerical order and find the middle
Median
number.
Mode Most common number.
Range Highest number minus the smallest number.
Upper quartile value minus the lower quartile value.
Interquartile Range More accurate than the range as it removes the
extreme values.

WHY?
+ Averages can remove the risk of anomalies skewing the data.
+ Easily see a general trend / what is most common in the data.
+ Easily compare changes between areas.
Improving data…
Improving data collection methods
Make it ACCURATE & RELIABLE Make it REPRESENTATIVE
(Enough data that we can trust (Enquiry covers the whole area
what we find out) and not just a small part)
• Collect more data and • Collect data at more sites to
generate an average – reduce cover a larger area – reduces
the risk of anomalies. the risk of anomalies.
• Ask a wider variety of • Ask a lots of different people
questions on a questionnaire. for a questionnaire to cover all
• If something is opinion based, ages / genders / ethnicities
consulting with other people to etc.
reduce bias. • Collect data at different times
• Collect data at different times of day / year / weather
of day / year / weather conditions.
conditions.