Key Terms

📖 Key Terms

stakeholder — Any individual, group, or organisation that is affected by a decision, or that has the power to affect the outcome of a decision. In geography, stakeholders are analysed because they have different values, priorities, and levels of influence — and understanding these differences is essential to evaluating any course of action.

trade-off — The sacrifice you accept when you choose one option over another. Every geographical decision involves trade-offs because resources are finite and stakeholder interests conflict. Acknowledging trade-offs explicitly is a mark of high-quality geographical analysis.

option appraisal — The systematic process of identifying all possible courses of action and evaluating the costs, benefits, feasibility, and impacts of each one before making a decision. A decision matrix is a tool used to formalise option appraisal.

evaluation — The process of weighing evidence to reach a justified judgement. In geography, evaluation involves considering the quality of evidence, the relative strength of different arguments, and the significance of different impacts — not just listing facts.

sustainable development — Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987). In decision-making, sustainable development is often used as a framework criterion: does this option balance economic, social, and environmental goals in the long term?

RAVES analysis — A framework for analysing stakeholders: Role (who are they?), Attitude (for/against/neutral?), Values (what do they care about?), Evidence (what data supports their position?), Significance (how much influence do they have?). Applying RAVES to every stakeholder ensures a comprehensive, balanced stakeholder analysis.

decision matrix — A table that scores multiple options against multiple criteria, with each criterion weighted by its relative importance. Used to compare options systematically. Not a definitive answer-generator, but a tool for structuring thinking and making weighting assumptions explicit.

weighted criteria — Criteria in a decision matrix are weighted when some factors are considered more important than others. A criterion weighted at 30% has three times more influence on the final score than one weighted at 10%. The choice of weights is itself a geographical judgement that must be justified.

3C structure — A framework for writing justified decision answers: Claim (state the decision clearly), Criteria (the most important factors and why they matter), Conclusion with trade-offs (what you are giving up and why it is worth it).

pre-release resource booklet — The document issued to GCSE Geography students several weeks before Paper 3. It contains maps, graphs, photographs, and stakeholder perspectives on a specific geographical issue. Students may annotate and study it before the exam.