Welcome to Year 11 International GCSE Geography fieldwork

The objectives of the fieldwork are:

1. To identify the way population, change and migration affects the character of urban areas.
2. To compare four areas, with reference to housing, ethnicity, age structure, wealth and
employment and the provision of services.

The fieldwork was originally based on the city of Birmingham; however, the central issues and
investigation methods are applicable to any urban area.

Skills:

Basic – Annotation of maps, diagrams, photos and sketches

Overlaying data
Investigative - Identification of geographical questions
Collection of quantitative and qualitative data
Processing, presentation, analysis and interpretation of evidence
Drawing conclusions and evaluating an investigation
Cartographic - Use of base maps, choropleth maps and Ordnance Survey maps
Graphical - Use of bar graphs, scatter graphs and pie charts
ICT - Use of: remotely sensed data and digital images
databases, e.g. census data
geographical information systems (GIS)
Presentation of text, graphical and cartographic images
Statistical - Spearman’s rank correlation test

Task 1:

Identify the study area. Locate 4 areas of the city/urban areas. Plan a transect through these areas.
Remember you can also use google maps and street view. Include a map showing the 4 areas with
boundaries.

Task 2:

Carry out a full environmental survey. You will need to make and include a copy of the environmental
survey. You will also need to graph the results and analysis them in the respective sections.

Task 3:

Environment:

Graffiti -2 -1 0 1 2 No graffiti
Litter -2 -1 0 1 2 No litter
Noisy -2 -1 0 1 2 Quiet
Poor street lighting -2 -1 0 1 2 Good lighting
No green spaces -2 -1 0 1 2 Green spaces
Traffic congestion -2 -1 0 1 2 No congestion
-2 -1 0 1 2
-2 -1 0 1 2
Total Score:

1
Housing:

Small gardens -2 -1 0 1 2 Large gardens

High density -2 -1 0 1 2 Low density
Cheap to buy -2 -1 0 1 2 Expensive
In need of maintenance -2 -1 0 1 2 Well maintained
No private parking -2 -1 0 1 2 Private parking
Old housing -2 -1 0 1 2 New housing
Properties empty/boarded -2 -1 0 1 2 No empty property
-2 -1 0 1 2
-2 -1 0 1 2
Total Score:

Gather the following evidence (where possible):

1. House price information:

2. Approximate size of gardens (pace it out!) (or use the measurement tool in google
maps)

3. Traffic count (traffic in both directions during 1 minute) (depending)

4. Photographs to support your data

5. Sketches:

Task 4: The Write Up!

You must now write up the findings from your investigation. Your write up should include all of the
following:

1. Aims.

2. Methodology

3. Data section, containing neat copies of the information that you have collected.

4. Interpretation of data. Within this section, you must use:

a. Several graphs of your primary data
b. At least one sketch map (primary) and one annotated photograph or aerial
photograph (primary or secondary)
c. At least one example of the use of GIS for primary or secondary data (Google map
showing transects)
d. A Spearman’s rank correlation between 2 sets of secondary data

5. Conclusion (aims should be answered here)

6. Evaluation (strengths, weaknesses, improvements, extensions)