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TITLE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACTORS IMPACTING THE LOCAL

ECONOMY OF BOREHAMWOOD.
Within this investigation I will be finding out the factors affecting the economy
However I will be not taking into consideration about government
policy,because I want to find out the factors affecting Borehamwood’s
economy at a local scale in oppose to a national scale. By using primary and
secondary data I hope to find the main factors into why Borehamwood’s
economy has declined over the past few years.
Sub questions
Structural make up of employment in Borehamwood

What’s threatening Borehamwood’s shopping sector

What impacts have the Pandemic had on Borehamwood’s economy.

HYPOTHESIS

Sub Question 1

I hypothesise that Borehamwood’s Employment will have most workers in the tertiary sector. This is
due to Borehamwood being an economically developed town and as a result this implies to me
that’s Borehamwood’s workers are earning more money and as a result are spending it on the
economy. Thus, resulting in a developed town.

Sub Question 2

I hypothesise that the main cause of the decline of the shopping sector, is due to a rise in
Unemployment, if correct then this could cause huge economic problems for Borehamwood because
if people are not working and earning money then they cannot spend their money on the economy
and especially the shopping sector.

Sub Question 3

I hypothesise that the Pandemic has negatively affected the economy and especially the Retail
sector, this is since I live in Borehamwood and have seen first-hand the effect on Shops over the
pandemic and thus, I believe the impacts of the pandemic have been overwhelmingly negative for
Borehamwood’s economy
Location and Context:

All the fieldwork will take

place within Borehamwood,
a town in Hertsmere, south N
of Hertfordshire bordering
the north west of London. It
is extremely accessible
being close to our school
and having abundant
infrastructure in road, bus
routes and a train station. In
addition, there is a library on
the High street, with a
website, which can make it
easy to access historical
records. The combination of
these elements makes it
suitable to carry out
coursework. During my
fieldwork I will carry out
extensive primary data which
will be combined with
researched secondary data.

Furthermore, Borehamwood has a huge socio -economic divide with 6110 out of a
population of 32000, having universal credits. which equates to over 19 percent of the
population but, However Borehamwood’s average home income is 20 percent higher than
the national average. This huge divide in wealth will help me understand and to find out my
objective.
Population from 2011 census

And universal credits from government website

THEORETICAL CONTEXT
LINK TO SPECIFICATION
This aim links to 3.2.2.4 Changing Places of the specification under the section of Local Place
study exploring change of a place – Economic change of a local place. This area of the
specification explores how place is affected through economic change and what factors
affect economic change. I will investigate what factors impact the local economy. This will
come form the perspective of someone who has lived in Borehamwood all their life. As
Alfred Marshall stated that ‘science should aim to understand economic change and not
simply the forces moulding it together. It will be exciting to attempt to understand what
factors have impacted Borehamwood’s economy.
Rationale behind my investigation
Structural make up of employment in Borehamwood and how does it affect the economy?

In this sub question I will attempt to find the structural employment of Borehamwood. I chose this
question because finding out about the employment structure of Borehamwood will help me
understand how developed Borehamwood is as a town and thus show what the economy is like. For
example, if most workers in Borehamwood are in the secondary sector then one can assume that
Borehamwood’s is run down and underdeveloped opposingly if the tertiary sector has most of the
the Borehamwood’s work force then there would be more money circulating in the economy which
will increase the multiplier effect and result in Borehamwood becoming a more developed town. In
this sub question I am hoping to find what percentage of Borehamwood’s work force fit into each
category of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector for me to find out if the type of sector that
Borehamwood’s workers work in is affecting the economy. By using quantitative data and asking 50
members of the public, I will be able to find out percentages of what sector workers in
Borehamwood work in. Although I recognise that 100 people does not represent a whole town, I will
ask 100 random members of public what type of job they have and draw up my statistics from that.

SUB QUESTION 2

What’s threatening Borehamwood’s shopping sector?

The shopping sector is arguably the largest contributor in growing of Borehamwood’s economy.
Through this sub question I will conduct qualitive data- We can define qualitative data as that
which is non-numerical [5] (and therefore quantitative data as that which has numerical
values). By using qualitative data such as surveys, e.g., asking shopkeepers what their
profits are. If the data shows that shops are in fact losing money then they could be forced to
shut down which could cause unemployment which would result in a positive feedback loop,
of more of Borehamwood’s population losing jobs due to shops shutting which results in
unemployment and hence less money to spend on shops which could result in further shops
shutting down. If correct this factor could be a huge key player in why Borehamwood’s
economy is experiencing an economic slowdown.
Closed shops on Borehamwood high street

SUB QUESTION 3

What impacts have the Pandemic had on the economy?

This circular flow diagram shows how Borehamwood’s economy runs, however due to the pandemic
and lockdown, shops were shut, and people were unable to spend in the economy. As a result, in
theory the economy should have been hit hard from the pandemic because households weren’t
spending and firms’ wont ‘factors. To find the impacts I will use both primary and secondary data to
help me find differences in the economy- especially in the retail market - between pre-pandemic and
post pandemic to help give me an understanding of what happened to the economy during those
periods of lockdowns. In addition, linking to SUB QUESTION 2 this data which I will collect from sub
question 3 will determine if the cause of the decline of the shopping sector could be caused from the
pandemic. Or from other factors such as unemployment.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The main ethical issue is that trying to keep a safe distance when obtaining primary data from
members of the public and keeping with the current guidelines of the COVID-19 set by the
government. This means that some people might feel uneasy about face-to-face interviewing and
opportunity sampling. As a result, when interviewing members of the public I maintained a safe
distance away. Furthermore, other methods I used to obtain primary data was an online survey I
conducted. When doing online surveys if one asks personal details such as age or wage, then it is
critical for the survey to remain anonymous and confidential which can be achieved by not asking for
names on the survey form. Also, when taking pictures of Borehamwood’s High street, it is of
paramount importance not to include faces but when not possible, one should ask permission from
that member of public. Furthermore, in my interviews I asked shopkeepers about their average
number of customers and therefore it is important to allow people to opt out of their answers being
used in my survey.

In an ideal world I would use face to face interviews for primary data because they are much more
reliable and accurate than an online survey. However due to COVID-19 being ever present and
people unwillingness to take part. I had to settle for online survey for majority of my primary data.

HEALTH AND SAFETY ASSESMENT

RISK ASSOCIATED CONTROL MEASURES

Risk of injury during fieldwork Make sure to be careful when near a road
Watch out for hazards in populated areas e.g.,
 tripping hazards
Causing offence Ensure social distancing
Carry out investigations in small groups
Try avoiding face to face contact when in
public.

METHODOLOGY

TECHNIQUE JUSTIFICATION When, Location and Description of LIMITATIONS

Sampling Method
 Questionnaires give The questionnaire will be I will conduct stratified The obvious limitation of my questionnaire
Primary Data: a conducted on the 30th of August sampling with the strata would be the use of convenience sampling
me the capabilities
questionnaire to collect large
at 2pm Uk time, it will be carried
out by myself approaching 50
being AGE (ages 18-71)
Then I will use
which is known to have unintended biases.
However due to many people not willing to
primarily aimed amounts of data in random people aged 18-71 along convenience sampling take part in my questionnaire I was unable
a short amount of the High street. where I will walk down to try any other sampling techniques.
at the first sub time. In addition, I This is a form of stratified the High street and the
sampling where the strata are first 50 people that are Another limitation is the fact that I am
question, asking have conducted my AGE ranging from 18-71 However willing and able to relying on the respondents to be honest
50 people what questionnaire over once using these strata, I will use complete my about the questions I ask. However due to
a bank holiday on convenience sampling where the questionnaire will be the nature of my questions I personally
type of job they the high street. So, first 100 people I see on the High used for my data. don’t think they are too personal and I’m
street of the qualifying age I will Hopefully I can find 50 confident that the respondents will be
have and if there it should give me a ask for my questionnaire. people willing to happy to answer honestly to my
good indication of However, because convenience complete my questionnaire.
spending habits what type of jobs sampling can have unintended questionnaire, however
on shops have people have biases, if I am not satisfied with
the results then I will use data
due to my
questionnaire being
In an ideal world I would use random
because my results stratified sampling and even a census to find
changed due to from the 2011 census is conducted on Bank out about the type of jobs in Borehamwood.
won’t be limited to determining what types of jobs Holiday I think it However, the census is over 10 years old
the pandemic. In people that either people have in Borehamwood shouldn’t be a problem and the results for the census that was
getting 100 people to
addition, in this aren’t working or
take part in the
conducted this year has not been published
work part time. in time of my questionnaire so as a result
questionnaire Furthermore,
questionnaire due to people not willing to answer my
questionnaire and the census being
there will be linking to sub outdated, my method of convenience
aspects of my 2nd question 2, I’m also stratified sampling will have to be contempt
asking people how
and 3rd sub often they go to the
questions shops, and because
Bank holidays are
one of the busiest
times of the year in
terms of shopping, I
will find a vast array
of different people
on the high street
should give me the
fairest answer for
my questionnaire
 TECHNIQUE JUSTIFICATION When, Location and Description of LIMITATIONS
Sampling Method
Primary Data: In The best way to find I will be executing I will find 5 Shops on I will be asking
formational out about the effects this informational the high street that shopkeepers
Interview with 5 of the pandemic on interview on the 23rd are willing to answer personal questions
different Shops is to ask October 2021. I will my questionnaire. that they may not
shopkeepers about shopkeepers about find 5 independent However, I will want to disclose such
the effects of the changes in shops on the high ensure that the 5 as profits. This could
pandemic on their customers and street (SHENLEY shops I interview will result in Shopkeepers
shops. profits since the start ROAD) and attempt be from different not being truthful
of the pandemic. This to interview them to sectors of retail, to which could
will help me Sub find out how the reduce biases. negatively affect the
question 2 and 3 pandemic has reliability of my
because it will help impacted their shop results.
me understand if the on the high street. to make my
pandemic has This will help me interview more
negatively or answer my reliable I could make
positively affected Investigation title to the interviews
the shopping see if the pandemic anonymous to
industry. has been a factor promote
that has affected shopkeepers to be
Borehamwood’s local more truthful
economy
Secondary data: To back the evidence this will be Find secondary data House prices online
Websites and of my primary data conducted online. (Zoopla) are very
journals will have to use throughout the much an estimate.
websites to find writing of this Furthermore
statistics and coursework between journals/articles I
especially for Sub- October and read may have biases
question 3 I will need December 2021 to in them that could
to find house prices find out what skew my results
online to help me impacts the local
find out if house economy.
prices are an impact
to local economy
SECONDARY DATA: To find out about this will be I will go on the Because the Census
2011 CENSUS education levels, conducted government website in 10 years old the
unemployment rates throughout the and find information results could be
will help me answer writing of this about the 2011 incorrect now,
sub question 1 by coursework between census that was however because I
understanding what October and recorded about don’t have access to
percentage of December 2021 to Borehamwood any data beyond
Borehamwood’s find out what 2011, I will use this
working age is impacts the local data. In an ideal
unemployed, this economy. world I would use the
could also help me to 2021 census that was
understand sub conducted this year;
question 2 However, the results
are yet to be
published so I’ll have
to use the 2011
census

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

TITLE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACTORS IMPACTING THE LOCAL
ECONOMY OF BOREHAMWOOD
What is the Structural employment of Borehamwood?

Employment structure means how the workforce is divided up between the three

main employment sectors - primary, secondary, and tertiary.
We can use this definition of employment structure by internet geography to find out what Borehamwood’s workers fit
into each sector

Primary sector: jobs involve getting raw materials from the natural environment e.g., Mining, farming, and fishing.

Secondary sector: Jobs involve making things (manufacturing) e.g., making cars and steel.

Tertiary Sector: Jobs involve providing a service e.g., teaching and nursing

Quaternary sector: jobs involve research and development e.g., IT.

Below is a Pie chart portraying what the employment structure of Borehamwood looks like

What type of Job do you have?

Primary Secondary Tertiary

This pie chart portrays that the vast majority (80 percent) of Borehamwood’s
workforce is in the Tertiary sector. Tertiary sector generally has the highest
pay, and we can see this through the fact that Borehamwood’s average
earning is 20 percent higher than the national average. This will help boost the
economy because people will have higher disposable income and as a result
will spend money in Borehamwood’s economy. This will then create a
‘multiplier effect ‘which will benefit the economy greatly. However, I must
acknowledge the accuracy of this data because I obtained this data by using
primary convenience sampling. I asked 50 people what job they had and then
categorised the type of Job into primary, secondary, or tertiary sector. So,
because I used convenience sampling there could be unintended biases in my
results. However due to 80 percent of workers working in the tertiary sector
and Borehamwood average income is 20 percent higher than national average
I feel confident about the accuracy of this data.
Furthermore, there is another Sector called quaternary sector however in my primary data, not one person was part of the
quaternary sector, this could be since my questionnaire was conducted on Bank Holiday at 2pm, some people who work in
the quaternary sector could have been working at the time my questionnaire was conducted and hence could be why there
were 0 people who worked in the field at that time

Unemployment rates in Borehamwood per 2011 census

This Graph shows us the Universal credit statistics for Borehamwood. I was unable to find the exact
Unemployment number for Borehamwood due to the government stopped releasing unemployment
data. Instead from this graph we can see that Borehamwood’s Universal credit is below average with
the Mean being 11973.75 for Hertfordshire, this shows that unemployment is relatively low, and this
could be due to Borehamwood having a relatively educated population as seen below where 30 percent of
Borehamwood has the highest qualification.

High education and Low unemployment will greatly boost the economy and as a result
Borehamwood’s economy has created lots of opportunities, with Sky studios set to open in 2022
which will bring 30000 jobs along with it. This form of Secondary data on both graphs above are very
accurate because they are both taken from the 2011 Census where it is a crime to lie. However due
to the Census being 10 years old, some results from the census could be outdated.

SUB QUESTION NUMBER 2

What’s threatening Borehamwood’s shopping sector

To evaluate this question, I will find out why the shopping sector has declined over the recent years
and why more and more shops are shutting down on the high street. This will be completed by using
primary and secondary data as seen below.

I interviewed 3 shopkeepers on the High street to understand if the shopping sector is on the
decline.

The Three Shops are called ORLI and CEX and Pure Gym, the first one is a Restaurant, whereas the
second shop is an Electronics store, and the third shop is a Gym
Both these Hierarchy charts convey that the Shopping sector in Borehamwood has declined over the
last few years. This is an integral part of Borehamwood’s economy. It would be easy for me to blame
it on the Pandemic; However, I will look deeper to see if there are any other factors to why people
aren’t visiting shops as much as they used to.
Average house prices in Borehamwood using systematic sampling on Zoopla where every 3 rd house
on sale I would write down and after 10 houses I would find the mean and determine that integer as
the average house prices.

Zoopla website I found my secondary data from

Average house price in Borehawmood

7000000

6000000

5000000

4000000

3000000

2000000

1000000

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

From this Line graph we can see that the Mean house price in Borehamwood is £1,397,000, This
shows that it is relatively expensive to purchase a house in Borehamwood, perhaps showing that
most of Borehamwood’s workers are spending their money on rent in oppose to spending in the
local economy and especially shops, which negatively impacts the local economy.

However, to check the Validity of the mean and to find out the spread of the data, can work out the
standard deviation. the standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion
of a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean
of the set, while a high standard deviation indicates that the values are spread out over a wider
range. By using the formula, the standard deviation of house prices in Borehamwood was
1,670,000. This High standard deviation shows us the huge spread of house prices in Borehamwood
with the Highest house value was 6 million pounds and the lowest value was 125 thousand pounds.
This could explain why the shopping sector is on the decline because of the huge spread of house
prices, as a result many people will be forced to pay much higher than the average 1.397 million for
a house and therefore won’t have as much disposable income left from paying the rent to spend in
the shopping sector and as a result the shopping sector has seen a decline in customers.

However, the accuracy of the results could be flawed due to the use of systematic sampling to find
out the average house price of Borehamwood. Systematic data has a higher chance of data
manipulated which could skew the results.

Article from the Borehamwood times showing unemployment to be increasing

This newspaper article shows how Unemployment is at its highest levels for more than 4 years. This
results in people not able to spend money in the economy due to a rise in people being unemployed
and not earning money to spend on the economy. This article could link to the previous Graph about
why house prices being so spread out.

because even though Borehamwood’s national average income is 20 percent higher there is rising
unemployment which could explain why houses are either very cheap or very expensive and thus
shows a huge socioeconomic divide between Borehamwood’s population. Furthermore, this rise in
unemployment will result in a positive feedback loop, where if people are unemployed then they
won’t have money to spend on the shops. If the shops are losing customers, then they might have to
close and result in further unemployment. This cycle will keep on going and getting worse and each
change will be amplified further. This could suggest why the shopping sector is declining because if
more people are unemployed then they wont any money to spend, and that positive feedback loop
will just get worse and worse.

A major flaw in this article is that it could be over exaggerated for a political gain. Borehamwood
times is known to be pro-labour and because of the current council having a conservative majority
the editor could deliberately over-exaggerate the unemployment situation to deter people from
voting conservative.

SUB QUESTION 3

What impacts have the Pandemic had on Borehamwood’s economy.

For this Sub question I will compare Data from 2019 (pre pandemic) and 2021 (post pandemic) to
see what impacts the pandemics have had on Borehamwood’s local economy by using qualitive and
567gtquantitative data.

Photo of new Shops on the high street post-pandemic

These photo’s shows that even after the pandemic, new businesses are being opened, by using a
land use survey I found out that over 6 new shops have opened. This shows that even though the
pandemic negatively impacted the country due to lockdown, a year later there are many new start
up shops emerging on Borehamwood’s Highstreet thus conveying that the pandemic might have
positively impacted Borehamwood’s economy because whilst in lockdown people spent very little,
so in the short term Borehamwood’s economy was negatively affected However now in the long
term after the pandemic there is lots of investment and start up shops opening in the High street,
With these new shops opening up it shows how the economy is improving.

The accuracy of this Land use survey is reliable because the data is primary and therefore will have
no biases.

Photo taken from 2017 Picture A

Photo taken from 2021 Picture B

This Contrast shows the impact the pandemic has had on the economy. Both pictures are both
taken from google maps on the 11th September, just 4 years apart by using Google timeline. what we
can immediately see is that the image taken in 2021 is much less busy than the photo in 2017. And
this is due to the pandemic because people are less willing to go outside and spend on the economy
due to fear of contracting the Virus. Furthermore, we can also see that the names of the stores are
vastly different with Almost every shop in 2017 ceasing to exist in 2021. We can infer from this that
the pandemic has caused all these shops to shut due the Shops losing customers over the pandemic
and ending up shutting down. Furthermore, we can also see that much bigger firms have taken over
the shops in 2021 rather than small business that owned the stores in 2017 such as Clarks that has
now been taken over by Aldi. This could be due to the pandemic and that small independent firms
have struggled to survive and therefore has been forced to closed, whereas the bigger firm such as
Aldi have been able to use retained profits to survive the pandemic.

This shows the huge impact the pandemic has had on the economy and especially local shops since
many small shops were forced to closed and only the Bigger shops could remain open. In the future
this trend could intensify with taxes rising due to the pandemic, smaller independent shops on the
High street could go out of business and they could be replaced by a bigger firm that can afford to
pay the higher taxes. And hence could create a clone effect where all the High streets in England
have the same ‘big’ shops with smaller independent shops ceasing to exist.

The accuracy of this Image can be questioned due to the small scope of the image. Because we can
only see a small proportion of Borehamwood’s shopping sector, we might not be able to see the
fullest extent the pandemic has had on smaller shops.

Article showing how a small shop was closed due to the pandemic and bigger firms are set to buy the
shop afterwards.

‘Outfit is currently closed due to coronavirus restrictions but the Borehamwood

Times has been told the store will shut for good on Friday (January 22).The
closure seemed inevitable after owner Arcadia collapsed into administration
at the start of December’ this article shows the extent to which the pandemic
has impacted the economy and especially retail sector Furthermore as
previously stated in the Maps beforehand, Next, which is much bigger firm, is
set to buy the Shop over the pandemic ‘High street stalwart Next is among
retail groups to have placed bids to take control of Sir Philip Green's
retail empire’ This shows how over the pandemic the small independent
firm have been forced out and only the ‘bigger firms’ who have a lot of
capital can afford to survive the pandemic, Thus in the future I predict
that there will be a huge clown town effect where all High streets look
identical due to the higher barriers to entry for smaller shops.

This article is accurate because there is no motive and the editor is

merely informing the readers about how a shop is struggling over the
pandemic

CONCLUSION

SUB QUESTION 1: What is the structural employment of Borehamwood?

Hypotheses: I predict that most workers will work in the tertiary sector.

I have concluded through my data presentation that hypothesis is correct. Through my primary and
secondary data, I am very confident that most workers, work in the tertiary sector and through my
results I found out that the number was 80 percent thus making my hypothesis correct.

Furthermore, in the census that I used to find out about the levels of education in Borehamwood it
stated that over 30 percent of Borehamwood’s population had the highest-level qualification that is
attainable. This could result in a shift in sectors with many highly educated workers living in
Borehamwood potentially could start working in the quaternary sector in the future. This would
even more greatly benefit Borehamwood’s economy as on average, the quaternary sector has the
highest base pay, and this increased income will be reflected through more spending, which will
cause the multiplier effect and thus help the economy.

Sub Question 2: What’s threatening the shopping sector and how can that impact the economy?

HYPOTHESIS: The rise in Unemployment is the main reason as why the shopping sector is on the
decline

From My Data we can clearly see that the Shopping sector is currently struggling, through my
interview I conducted with 3 shopkeepers. In both questions the overwhelming response was that
they are losing customers and their profits are going down. Now I partially agree with my Hypothesis
because through the Article by Borehamwood times, it stated ‘Unemployment is soaring and the
highest point in 4 years’ as previously discussed Unemployment can cause a positive feedback group
that will cause further unemployment that will have a ripple effect on shops that will lose customers
due to them not being able to spend money in those shops. However, in sub question 1 we found
out that universal credits were relatively low in Hertfordshire and thus showing that Unemployment
is below average in Borehamwood. These statistics would disagree with my Hypothesis and thus
showing that my Hypothesis is wrong. Furthermore, the main reason for the decline of the Shopping
sector would be rising House prices. From my secondary data I concluded that the average house
price is £1.37 million. Moreover, the average income in Borehamwood is £ 378,000 (to 3sf) and as a
result people who buy a house in Borehamwood would have to spend a very considerable amount of
there income repaying the mortgage in oppose to spending their income on the local economy. This
reason is why we saw CEX and Pure Gym both ‘luxury goods and services’ see a decline in profits and
customers, because people can’t afford to spend as much money on luxury goods due to the rising
house prices. This decline in the Shopping sector will negatively impact Borehamwood’s economy
because if less people are spending money on shops then shops will have to close, and this will
further perpetuate the unemployment cycle and result in Borehamwood’s economy declining.

Sub Question 3; How has the pandemic affected the Retail economy?

Hypothesis, I believe that the pandemic has negatively affected the economy.

I have concluded from my data presentation my hypothesis is to an extent correct, as

through my primary and secondary data I believe it is fair to say that Borehamwood’s
Economy has been negatively impacted from the pandemic However from my Photo of new
shops Opening on the high street post -pandemic one could argue the pandemic has
resulted in new investment and shops opening on the High street. However, photo’s have a
very small scope and don’t show the whole picture, whereas when we went on google Maps
and compared the retail park 4 years apart, we could see the damage the Pandemic has had
on small independent shops. Where before there were lots of independent shops operating
on the Retail Park, however due to the pandemic they were forced to shut and instead
Larger chain shops that could afford to survive the pandemic, took over their shops. We can
see this also through the article written from Borehamwood times where a small shop had to
close and was bought by ‘Next’ as much bigger firm. This will negatively impact the economy
because if lots of shops are closing then there will be higher unemployment and as a result
the council will have to spend more on universal credits due to a rise in unemployment in
oppose to investing in the local economy.
OVERALL CONCLUSION
In all three sub questions I have found a recurring theme that the rise in unemployment has
been the main impact in negatively affecting the economy. Although Unemployment can be
positive to an economy, because if there was full employment then there would be no FDI
into Borehamwood because there would be no available workers to work as everyone is
already employed. However High unemployment has huge issues to an economy because it
causes less spending in the economy and especially the shopping sector which can cause
shops to shut down which further fuels the unemployment problem.SO as a result I have
concluded that Unemployment is the largest contributor that is negatively impacting
Borehamwood’s economy and for Borehamwood’s economy to grow in the future, the
Council need to invest in training and need to provide more job opportunities to the
population of Borehamwood.

EVALUATION
Using primary and secondary data I was able to draw the conclusions I needed for my
investigation to explore the questions I posed and prove or disprove my hypothesis.
However, when looking at my primary data it is important to look at its limitations and
reliability. For example, when doing a questionnaire, it relies on people answering truthfully
and getting a scenario where this form of opportunity and voluntary sampling gives you a
large enough variation of people and different demographics taking place. Although the
likelihood is because of the way it was advertise only a certain demographic with people in
similar demographic categories being the ones completing the questionnaire.
This has especially been the case due to the COVID-19 pandemic as People might feel
uncomfortable with doing face – face questionnaires they could say shorter answers than I
would have hoped for, which may reduce the reliability of people’s answers as well as
people not being able to say their further thoughts as it became quite closed, in addition to
this it has stopped me from conducting larger amounts of primary research. For example, my
plan was to Interview 10 Shop keepers to find out the impact the Pandemic has had on there
stores. However, I found out that only 3 were comfortable to give me answers for my
interview Finally, another impact of the pandemic is with transport being reduced and the
need to need to reduce movement I was not able to go to a secondary location to properly
compare the two regions. In this case the plan would have been to go to Bournemouth and a
and do a land use survey to compare the impacts of the pandemic on the High street.
Therefore, my reliance on secondary data had to increase.
Using secondary data, I was able to obtain some of the data I would have been able to in
person through websites such as google maps which could replace a land use survey in
person, yet it makes it less accurate as the street view may not be up to date
In addition, when looking at secondary data it is important to measure the reliability of it as it
may be outdated or written trying to project an opinion or bias. To counteract this, I tried to
find similar articles with the same opinion before using a source in this investigation to avoid
these biases, however I’m sure some still exist within.