4.

2 GEOGRAPHICAL
INVESTIGATIONS
Identification of an issue, question,
or problem
 Many geographical investigations begin by stating one or number of
hypotheses.
 hypothesis is used to test the issue, question or problem
 hypotheses are the ideas you intend to test
 Examples of hypotheses:
 Pedestrian density is highest at the centre of the CBD, and declines with
increasing distance from the centre
 The sphere of influence of settlements increases with settlement size
 The pH of sand dunes decreases with distance inland
 Population density is higher in inner urban areas than in the suburbs
 Average temperatures in urban areas are higher than in surrounding rural
areas
Data collection

 Data can be collected on a group or individual basis which may

include:
 Fieldwork to collect primary data
 Gathering data from secondary sources such as from census information
and published map
 To collect data in sound and logical way so that valid conclusions can
be drawn, you should be aware of the characteristics and importance
of:
 Sampling
 Pilot surveys
 Questionnaires and interviews
 Observation, counting, and measuring
 Health and safety and other restrictions
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.
Primary data
Advantages
 It is up to date (current)
 You know how the data has been
collected i.e. what technique
 It only includes data that is
relevant to your coursework
 It only covers your study area
 It is collected in the format that
you want
Disadvantages
 The data may include some
personal bias
 Data collection can be time
consuming
 It can be expensive to travel to
places to collect data
 It is hard to study temporal
changes
 Some data might be unavailable
or too dangerous to collect
 Only possible to cover a small area
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. A census is a survey which is carried out in the majority of
countries every 10 years. It is a detailed survey that is compulsory for
everyone to fill in.
Secondary data
Advantages
 You can study temporal changes
e.g. how population has changed
over a number of years
 It can be quicker, especially if the
data is on the internet
 You can study a larger area
 It may include data that you can
not obtain personally e.g. salaries
Disadvantages
 It is out of date, especially if it has
been printed in a book.
 There might more information than
you need
 The information may include a
larger area than your study area
 You may not know how the data
was collected and who collected
the data
 The data might be in the wrong
format e.g. in a graph and not raw
figures
Sampling types

 Point sampling
 Making an observation or
measurement at an exact location,
such as an individual house or at a
precise six-figure grid reference
 Line sampling
 Taking measurements along a
carefully chosen line or lines, such as
a transect across a sand dune
ecosystem
 Quadrat (or area) sampling
 Quadrats are mainly used for
surveying vegetation and beach
deposits
 A quadrat is a gridded frame
Sampling methods
Sampling method: Random
sampling
 Involves selecting sample points
by using random numbers
 Table of random numbers can be
used or numbers can be
generated by most calculators
 The use of random numbers
guarantees that there is no human
bias in the selection process
Sampling method: Systematic
sampling
 Sample is taken in a regular way
 For example, it might involve every tenth house or person.
 When using an Ordnance Survey map it might mean analysing grid
squares at regular intervals.
Sampling method: Stratified
sampling
 Here an area under study divides into different natural areas.
 For example, rock type A may make up 60% of an area and rock type B the
remaining 40%.
 If you were taking soil samples for each type, you should ensure that 60% of
the samples were taken on rock type A and 40% on rock type B
 Stratified sampling - dividing sampling into groups, eg three sites from
each section of coastline, or five people from each age range. It is
possible to combine stratified sampling with random and systematic
sampling.
 Stratified random sampling - random samples are taken from within certain
categories.
 Stratified systematic sampling - regular samples are taken from within certain
categories.
Deciding on the size of the sample

 The larger the sample the more likely you are to obtain a true
reflection on the total population.
 A small sample could give a misleading picture of the total
population.
 A good rule to follow when deciding on sample size is to take as
many samples as possible with regards to:
 the time available
 available resources
 the number of samples required for a particular statistical technique
 capacity to handle the data collected
Pilot studies/surveys

 A pilot study or trial run plays an important role in any geographical

investigation.
 A pilot study involves spending a small amount of time testing your
methods of data collection. For example:
 If you are using equipment, does all the equipment work and can everyone
in the group use it correctly?
 If your data collection involves questionnaire, can the respondents
understand all the questions clearly?
 If method of sampling is used, does everyone know how to select the
sample points correctly?
 A small-scale pilot study allows you to make vital adjustments to your
investigations before you begin the main survey.
 Pilot study can save a great deal of time in the long run.
Questionnaires and interviews

 Questionnaire surveys involve both setting questions and obtaining

answers.—this is one of methods of data collection
 The questions are pre-planned and set out on a specially (well-
prepared) form.
 This method of data collection is used to obtain opinions, ideas, and
information from people in general or from different groups of
people.
 For most studies, 25 questionnaires is probably the minimum you
would need to draw reasonable conclusions.
A good questionnaire

 has a limited number of questions that take no more than a few minutes to
answer
 is clearly set out so that the questioner can move quickly from one question to
the next—people do not like to be kept waiting; the careful use of tick boxes
can help this objective
 is carefully worded so that the respondents are clear about the meaning of
each question
 follows a logical sequence so that the respondents can see ‘where the
questionnaire is going’—if a questionnaire is too complicated and long-winded
people may decide to stop answering the questions halfway through
 avoids questions that are too personal
 begins with the quickest questions to answer and leaves the longer/more
difficult questions to the end
 reminds the questioner to thank respondents for their cooperation
Disadvantages of questionnaires

 Many people will not want to cooperate for a variety of reasons—

people may be too busy while others may feel uneasy about talking
to strangers; some people are concerned about their privacy—
identity theft
 Research has indicated that people do not always provide
accurate answers in surveys—some people are tempted to give the
answer that they think the questioner wants to hear or the answer
they think shows them in the best light.
Delivering a questionnaire

 There options:
 Approach people in the street or in a public environment
 Knock on people’s doors
 Post questionnaires to people—you can either collect the
responses/questionnaires later or enclose a stamped addressed
envelope—this would be costly and the response rates are rarely above
30%; another disadvantage is that you will be unable to ask for
clarification if some responses are unclear.
 Choose right and appropriate timing e.g. most teenagers will be in
school at mid-morning on weekdays so you need to choose other
timing.
Example of good and bad
questionnaires
Interviews

 Interviews are more detailed interactions than questionnaires.

 It involves talking to relatively small group of people or an individual.
 For example, a study of an industrial estate might interviews if you
are trying to find out why companies choose to locate on the
estate.
 It is advisable to have a pre-planned questions.
 It is good idea to record the interview but permission (to record the
interview) must be obtained from the interviewee.
Interview
Advantages
 It provides flexibility to the interviewers
 The interview has a better response rate
than mailed questions, and the people
who cannot read and write can also
answer the questions.
 The interviewer can judge the non-verbal
behaviour of the respondent.
 The interviewer can decide the place for
an interview in a private and silent place,
unlike the ones conducted through
emails which can have a completely
different environment.
 The interviewer can control over the
order of the question, as in the
questionnaire, and can judge the
spontaneity of the respondent as well.
Disadvantages
 Conducting interview studies can be very
costly as well as very time-consuming.
 An interview can cause biases. For
example, the respondent’s answers can
be affected by his reaction to the
interviewer’s race, class, age or physical
appearance.
 Interview studies provide less anonymity,
which is a big concern for many
respondents.
 There is a lack of accessibility to
respondents (unlike conducting mailed
questionnaire study) since the
respondents can be in around any corner
of the world or country.
Health and safety and other
restrictions
 Work in pairs when conducting questionnaires a some people can
act in unfriendly manner when approach in the street.
 Working in pairs can also speed the process up—one person asking
questions, and the other noting the answers
 Some places like shopping malls, private premises may not allow
any interviews or conducting questionnaires. Hence, ask permission
first.
Observations, counts, and
measurements
 A field sketch
 Annotated photographs
 Recording tables
 Scoring systems
 Tally charts
A field sketch
A field sketch

 It is a hand-drawn summary of an environment you are looking at.

 It is very useful to record the most important aspects of a landscape
and noting the relationship between elements of such landscapes
(in both rural and urban environments).
 Fig. 6 (previous slide) is an example of good sketch.
 It highlights important geographical features on the landscape.
 Key features must be clearly labelled but make sure the sketch isn’t
too cluttered.
Annotated photograph
Annotated photograph

 It should be seen as complementing field sketches rather than just

being an alternative to them.
 Always record the precise location and conditions of the photographs
you take.
 This should include the grid reference, the direction the photograph is
taken, weather conditions and time of day.
 Annotated photograph shows your key perceptions about a location
you have visited on fieldwork.
 A series of photographs might show:
 how the type and quality of housing varies in an inner city or suburban area
 How a river and its valley changes from source to mouth
 Annotation in form of short, sharp sentences (as shown on Fig. 7 in the
previous slide)
Recording tables
Recording tables

 The most straightforward method of observation is noting weather a

physical or human feature exists in an area or not.
 Fig. 8 (in the previous slide), is an example of a recording table
showing park facilities.
 The objective here is to compare the facilities in four parks before
attempting to explain the differences between them.
 Recording is done by placing a tick in the appropriate square.
 Note that there is a final column to accommodate any unexpected
findings.
Scoring systems (example)
Scoring systems

 It used in in quality of life and other types of survey.

 The previous slide (figures a and b) shows an example of scoring system
used to study variations in environmental quality in different parts of
residential area.
 It shows that in the example 10 local environmental factors are being
observed. (fig. a)
 Fig. b shows how the scoring system works.
 here the score of 5 is the maximum possible for the bets environmental
conditions
 the minimum score is 1
 For each location the individual environmental are added together to
achieve a total environmental score.
 In this example the lowest possible total score is 10, and the highest is 10.
Tally charts

 Counts of various kinds are an

element of many geographical
investigations.
 Fig. 10 is an example of tally chart
used to record visitor numbers at
key locations in a park.
 The convention is to show counts
in group of 5, with the fifth count
as a line drawn across the previous
4 counts.
 Tally chart is also used to do
pedestrian counts.
 It can be conducted every 50m or
100m
Power’s Scale of Roundness

 Example (hypothesis: the bedload

becomes more rounded downstream)
 All you have to do while using the Powers'
Scale of Roundness is to take any particle
you want and compare it with the pictures
shown on the chart and make your own
conclusions from thereon.
 Repeat this for any number of particles
(easy as all you're doing is observing) you
want and note the number of particles that
fall into each category
 Weaknesses
 Classification is subjective / based on
student judgement
 Classes of pebbles are very similar / hard to
distinguish between classes
 Quadrat
 Quadrats are sample areas (usually squares or rectangles) marked out on the ground
and used to record the number of species present or count individuals of various
species.
 They are useful for studying plants and slow moving animals. In situations where the
quadrats are fixed in position they can be used to detect changes over time.
 Steps:
 Step 1
Place your quadrat at random.
 Step 2
Count the number of plants present for the nominated plant species and record these
numbers on the recording sheet
 Step 3
Repeat the above process until you have covered ten areas using your quadrat. Note: Using
your quadrat in 10 different areas will equal 10m².
 Step 4
On your Recording Sheet add up the total number of plants you recorded for each species.
This will give you the population density for 10m².
Bipolar survey
 Advantages
 Some may find it easier to place their
opinion on a scale with contrasting
opposites rather than a scale of 1-10, as 0
can act as a good starting point.
 Easy to condense into a clearer format
like a graph.
 Useful for concepts that have a bipolar
aspect.
 Disadvantages
 May lead to inaccurate conclusions,
especially if sample sizes are small.
 Surveys about opinions are subjective, so
they are hard to analyse.
 People may still find it difficult to
condense their emotions down to a
number.
Data Presentation methods

 There are multiple forms of data presentation methods that you can
use to present the data that you have collected.

 Line graphs - Simple or Comparative line graph (often used to present

continuous data)
 Bar graphs - Simple or Comparative bar graph (often used to present
categorical data)
 Scatter graphs with a line of best fit (often used to show relationship
between two variables)
 Pie Charts (often used to present proportion of the categorical data
collected)