FieldworkTopic Summary
Topic Summary: The Fieldwork Process — Planning and Design
Part of Fieldwork Process and Enquiry — GCSE Geography
This topic summary covers Topic Summary: The Fieldwork Process — Planning and Design within Fieldwork Process and Enquiry for GCSE Geography. Revise Fieldwork Process and Enquiry in Fieldwork for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 16 of 16 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 16 of 16
Practice
15 questions
Recall
20 flashcards
Topic Summary: The Fieldwork Process — Planning and Design
The 5-Stage Enquiry Process
- 1. Aim: broad geographical question to explore
- 2. Hypothesis: specific testable prediction from theory
- 3. Design: choose method, sampling strategy, equipment, risk assessment
- 4. Collect and present: fieldwork + appropriate graphs / maps
- 5. Analyse, conclude, evaluate: does data support the hypothesis? what are the limitations?
- Mnemonic: A Hot Dog Could Actually Satisfy Anyone
Sampling Strategies
- Random: random numbers select points; removes bias; may miss patterns
- Systematic: regular intervals; detects gradients; easy to replicate
- Stratified: proportional sub-groups; representative; needs prior knowledge
- Opportunistic: convenient; biased; not acceptable as sole method
- Primary: collected first-hand; specific; limited scale
- Secondary: from other sources; large-scale; may not fit question
Data Presentation
- Line graph: change over continuous time or distance
- Bar chart: comparing discrete categories
- Scatter graph: relationship between two variables
- Pie chart: proportional composition
- Choropleth map: spatial distribution across an area
- Flow line map: volume of movement between places
- Cross-section: channel or land profile
- Spearman's rank (rs): −1 to +1; significance tested at 95%
Evaluation Framework — PREACH
- P: Primary vs secondary data — was the right type chosen?
- R: Reliability — would repetition give same results?
- E: Equipment — was it accurate and appropriate?
- A: Anomalies — identified and explained geographically?
- C: Controls — were variables kept constant?
- H: Hypothesis — supported, partially supported, or rejected?
- Reliability = consistency; Validity = measuring the right thing; Representativeness = sample reflects the whole