Component 3:

All about the geography fieldwork.

Key Terms:
 Primary data: data collected first hand
 Questionnaires, land use mapping, observations, emotional mapping,
pedestrian count, census
 First hand opinions, reliable, up-to-date, you own it 
 Small sample, time-consuming, expensive
 Secondary data: already existing data (e.g. from a newspaper article)
 Newspaper articles, Police.UK (for crime figures)
 Positives: Generally wider sample, quick to access, may give averages
(reliable), and can be used to show change over time 
 Negatives: Less reliable- potential bias, less data, could be outdated, may be
in different units (harder to compare)
 PurposeShould be used to support primary data
 Hypothesis: requires background knowledge. A statement to be proved/ disproved.
 Valid: reliable and accurate data, linking to the investigation and to a geographical
concept.
 Reliable (Repetition and Consistency): has been repeated to find a mean,
reducing effect of random error; shows reproducibility
 Accurate (technique): dependent on skill and technique of the researcher;
evaluates the method.
 Qualitative: worded, often opinionated
 Quantitative: a numerical value 

Stages of a Geographical Investigation:

1. Choosing a suitable enquiry question
a. A good geographical question has the following traits:
i. A suitable sample scale/ size in accordance with the investigative
group (eg a GCSE group couldn’t be doing a three-year exploration)
b. Possibility and practicality (is it accessible?/safe?)
c. Relates to geography as a topic 
d. Based on a geographical theory or concept (e.g. Burgess model or
Bradshaw model).
2. Collecting data
a. Methods we used in Reading: 
i. Land use map: map the uses of retail units using a map and a key
 Clear presentation of land use
 Helps identify patterns- good for comparison 
 Can be overwhelming 
 Land use may be confusing; multiple uses of same building eg
Oracle 
 Time consuming
 Only did it once so may be unreliable
ii. Questionnaire: Ask pedestrians questions, collect their perceptions
about inequality in Reading.
  Reliable – 100 people in the sample.
 Good range of questions:
 Closed-ended/ Likert questions- easy to process
 Open-ended questions- opinionated 
 Closed-ended/ Likert questions- lacking detail
 Open-ended questions- overly detailed; hard to process
iii. Environmental quality survey: Assess and rate the environmental
quality of an area based on factors about the area e.g. graffiti,
security, etc
 Positive: Allows for comparison because same scale used at
each site
 Positive: Easy to process and present
 Negative: Subjective 
iv. Annotated photos: Annotate photos of Reading to show links to
inequality. 
 Positive: Detail
 Positive: Can leave features that are not relevant out.
 Positive Shows understanding – as can be annotated.
 Negative: Easy to oversimplify and miss important data.

Observations
 Positive: Gives detail 
 Negative: Subjective 
 Negative: Harder to objectively compare 

3. Processing and presenting detail 

a. Dependent on type of data- qualitative vs quantitative, continuous vs
categoric (discrete), percentage vs absolute 
b. Different graph types:
i. Line
1. Shows continuous data 
2. Easy to draw
ii. Radar
1. Compares multiple factors 
2. Difficult to draw 
iii. Pictogram 
1. Visually easy to understand
2. No numerical values
3. Easy to compare
4. Difficult to draw out
iv. Bar
1. Shows differences between sample locations 
2. Easy to draw 
v. Pie 
1. Shows percentages 
2. Easy to construct and would allow for comparison 
vi. Scatter
1. Shows relationship between two variables
4. Data analysis 
a. PEA
i. Overall pattern
ii. Evidence
iii. Anomalies 
 5. Conclusion
a. Overall findings
b. Use most convincing evidence to support points
c. Any improvements you could make to the investigation
6. Evaluation
a. Look at:
i. Sampling method 
ii. Factors evaluated 
iii. Accuracy and reliability of above 
iv. What could be improved? 
b. Are your results valid? 

Sampling
 Sampling: the selection of participants/ sites included in a study. A good sample will
be a smaller representation of the overall ‘target population’.
 Target population: the entire area/ population you could sample; sampling strategy
is used to narrow it down to a reasonable sample size.
 True sample: enough data is collected to get a reliable result and eliminate bias
 Sample size: Number of participants/ sites within a sample.

Methods of Sampling:
 Random (Using computer generated random number generator): 
 E.g. picking names out of a bowl 
 Equal chance of being chosen
 Chance of clusters (unequal distribution)
 unbiased
 Systematic 
 Equal spacing between participants/ sites; sample is chosen at regular
intervals
 Fair representation
 Can be biased- e.g. sites may not be accessible. Also may miss important
data in the intervals.
 Equal distribution
 Stratified
 Most representative of target population.
 Unbias
 Differently sized groups within the target sample/ populations lead to bias 
 Pick a fraction of each group- an equivalent fraction- to get an accurate
representation
 Opportunistic/ pragmatic 
 Sample where you can, if you can 
 Least representative
 Highly likely to be bias.

Exam Structure:

Section A: Method (Transects) 

 Transects:
 Linear sampling strategy 
 Data is collected along a line to see variation over distance
 Eg:
 Along a beach or sand dune
 Down a river
 In an urban environment
 Can be used in rural and urban environments
 Does not need to be straight!!
 In our studies we used streets as transects in Reading and the river as a transect at
the Pang.

Section B: Concept (inequality) 

Inequality:
 Inequality: the unequal distribution of economic, environmental or social
features across society.
 Could be seen in:
 Graffiti
 Litter
 Crime
 Vacant retail units 
 Deprivation: a lack of something that is necessary for a human’s wellbeing 
 Eg
 Food
 Water 
 Sleep
 Exercise 
 Social relationships

Reading Inequality Case Study 

Key Question: To what extent does inequality increase with distance from the
Oracle?
Concept: Inequality 
Method: Transects

1. Choosing a suitable enquiry question

a. To what extent does increase with distance from the Oracle?
i. Suitable scale; across Broad Street, walking distance, single day-trip
ii. Practical; can easily get the on bus
iii. Relates to geography; focus on inequality, geographical concept
iv. Based on a geographical theory or concept: Burgess model
2. Collecting data
a. Primary data:
i. Newspaper article 
1. Secondary data 
2. Probably unbiased 
3. Potentially out of date 
4. Can be Googled to show inequality in different places 
 ii. Pedestrian count 
1. Primary data 
2. Reliable 
3. Time-consuming 
4. Shows popularity 
5. Numerical value- can be shown in a bar graph
iii. Emotional mapping 
1. Primary data 
2. Qualitative 
3. Subjective 
4. Shows ambience
iv. Land use mapping 
1. Primary data
2. Clear 
3. Time-consuming 
4. Shows commercial interest 
v. Observations
1. Primary data 
2. Detailed
3. Subjective 
4. Shows opinions
vi. Surveys
1. Primary data
2. Shows opinions 
3. Potentially qualitative- hard to categorise/ present clearly 
vii. Bipolar surveys
1. Primary data 
2. Quantitative
3. Subjective 
viii. Photo 
Primary data 
1. Easy to obtain 
2. Unclear data, hard to present 
b. Secondary data
i. Police.UK crime statistics
1. 18 crimes reported at the Oracle in January 2023 
a. Mostly theft
2. 20 crimes at Reading Station in January 2023 
a. Roughly half are theft 
3. End of transect 3 is fewer crimes but more severe; Broad
Street Mall had 26 crimes, including lots of sexual assault. 
ii. Newspaper articles
1. Google search 
a. 6 stabbings at Broad Street Mall in top 10 results 
b. No stabbings at Oracle in the top 10 results 
iii. Keep in mind:
1. Potentially out of date, biased, or unreliable 
3. Processing and presenting detail 
a. Dependent on type- qualitative vs quantitative, continuous vs categoric
(discrete) data, percentage vs absolute 
b. Different graph types:
i. Line
1. Shows continuous data 
2. Easy to draw
 ii. Radar
1. Compares multiple factors 
2. Difficult to draw 
iii. Block 
1. Shows change over time
2. Good for comparing 
iv. Observations as annotations 
1. Gives detail 
2. Subjective 
3. Harder to objectively compare 
v. Pictogram 
1. Visually easy to understand
2. No numerical values
3. Easy to compare
4. Difficult to draw out
vi. Bar
1. Shows differences between sample locations 
2. Easy to draw 
vii. Pie 
1. Shows percentages 
2. Easy to construct and would allow for comparison 
viii. Scatter
1. Shows the relationship between two variables
4. Data analysis 
a. Transects 1 and 2 show that with distance from the Oracle, inequality
increases. This is shown by more chain stores closer to the Oracle, and
more vacant/ charity/ pop-up shops as you move away from the Oracle.
5. Conclusion
a. Overall findings
i. Data does show an increase in inequality with distance from the
Oracle
b. Use most convincing evidence to support points
i. Seen most clearly in the questionnaire, showing other people’s
opinions, and crime stats on Police.UK
c. Any improvements you could make to the investigation
i. To improve validity (accuracy and reliability), we would repeat the
experiment on other days to get a wider sample size. 
ii. We could also have done a transect running south, and made the
transects the same shape/ length.
6. Evaluation
a. Look at:
i. Sampling method: pragmatic, biased
ii. Factors evaluated: wide range of data including qualitative and
quantitative, but largely subjective
iii. Accuracy and reliability of above: low 
iv. What could be improved?: Larger sample size, repeats, less
subjective factors being evaluated 
b. Are your results valid? 
i. Not particularly; quite biased, small sample. More valid than the river
Pang study.

River Pang River Processes Case Study

 Key Question: To what extent do the characteristics of the river Pang change as
the river flows downstream?
Method: Transects
Equipment:
 Ranging pole and tape measure: measures width 
 Chain: measures wetting perimeter 
 Clinometer: measures gradient, slope 
 Float (an orange) and flowmeter (like a datalogger and light gates): measures
velocity
 Calliper and Power’s index: measures length of small objects
1. Choosing a suitable enquiry question
a. Suitable sample scale/ size: year 11 students following a transect, taking
three samples 
b. Possibility and practicality (is it accessible?): with a tractor, done in a day 
c. Relates to geography as a topic: looks at rivers, geographical landscape
features
d. Based on a geographical theory or concept: Bradshaw model
2. Collecting data
a. Factors we measured in the river Pang: 
i. River width
ii. River depth 
iii. Wetting perimeter 
iv. Avg river speed (x3)
v. Bedload size (left, middle, right- average)
vi. Gradient 
vii. Observations of site eg human intervention
b. Consistency 
i. Same factors being compared, same scale = reliability 
c. Opportunistic/ pragmatic sampling for accessibility and safety
i. Creates bias 
d. Sample size: 10 
i. Could’ve done more for better reliability
3. Processing and presenting detail 
a. Dependent on type- qualitative vs quantitative, continuous vs categoric
(discrete) data, percentage vs absolute 
b. Different graph types:
i. Scatter
1. Shows relationship between two variables
2. Positive here 
ii. Box plot 
1. Spread around a median
2. Highest and lowest values show range 
3. Anomalies shown as dots 
iii. Bar chart 
1. Categoric data, absolute (not percentages) 
iv. Kite graph
1. Shows width change over distance 
2. Continuous 
4. Data analysis 
a. PEA
i. Overall pattern
1. Most factors increased 
 ii. Evidence
1. Velocity, channel width, bed load size
iii. Anomalies 
1. Lots, especially in bed load size 
5. Conclusion
a. Overall findings
i. Factors generally increase as you go downstream
b. Use most convincing evidence to support points
i. Width, depth and bedload
c. Any improvements you could make to the investigation
i. Many improvements
ii. Better sampling method (random or stratified, less biased/ more
representative)
iii. Use a flow meter to measure velocity more accurately
iv. More repeats for reliability 
v. Measure at smaller intervals 
6. Evaluation
a. Look at:
i. Sampling method 
1. Pragmatic- biased 
ii. Factors evaluated 
1. Velocity 
2. Width
3. Depth
iii. Accuracy and reliability of above 
1. Velocity 
a. Stand side on
b. Use measuring tape 
2. Width
a. Ranging poles against bank 
b. Measure from bank 
3. Depth
a. Metre ruler 
b. Side-on  to prevent splashing up 
c. Right way up 
iv. What could be improved? 
1. Better sampling method (random or stratified)
2. Use a flow meter to measure velocity 
3. More repeats for reliability 
4. Measure at smaller intervals 
5. Go back in different seasons and check variation 
b. Are your results valid? 
i. No. Poor sampling technique, inconsistent, lack of repetition

Section C: A Wider UK Dimension Based on

Inequality
- Need to revise inequality
(https://www.coolgeography.co.uk/gcsen/CRM_Resources_Global_in
equalities.php )