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🎯 What Separates Level 2 from Level 3:
- Level 3 answers explain why the method was suited to that specific hypothesis and location — not just what the method was.
- Level 3 answers name specific limitations and give specific improvements: "repeat at three times of day" rather than "do it more times."
- Level 3 answers link results back to theory — "The positive correlation between EQS score and distance supports Burgess's Concentric Zone Model, which predicts that environmental quality increases outward from the CBD because land values fall and residential density decreases."
- Level 3 answers identify and explain anomalies rather than ignoring points that do not fit the trend.
📝 Ethical Considerations — 2-Mark Questions:
- Always state that you introduced yourself and explained the purpose before beginning a questionnaire.
- State that participation was voluntary and that responses were anonymous.
- State that you did not photograph identifiable individuals without consent.
- For any fieldwork in areas of deprivation: state that you were respectful and non-judgemental in your observations and questionnaire wording.
⚠️ Common Weak Answer Traps:
- "I used an EQS because it was easy." — No. Say it was systematic and allowed direct comparison between sites.
- "I could improve my investigation by getting more data." — Too vague. Specify: more sites, more criteria, more surveyors, or multiple time periods.
- "The CBD had the worst environmental quality." — Probably not. The inner city typically scores lowest. The CBD may score poorly for noise and traffic but well for other criteria.
- Confusing reliability and validity: reliability = would you get the same result if you repeated it? Validity = does it actually measure what you think it measures?
- Forgetting to mention ethics in questionnaire-related questions — there is almost always 1 mark available for mentioning informed consent or anonymity.
Quick Check: Evaluate the use of a questionnaire to investigate whether quality of life is higher in wealthier urban areas. Give one strength and one limitation with a specific improvement for the limitation. (4 marks)
Strength: A questionnaire can capture residents' perceptions of quality of life — factors such as sense of community, safety, and satisfaction with services that cannot be observed directly by the geographer. Using a Likert scale (1–5) for each factor allows results to be expressed as numbers and compared statistically between areas. Limitation: Temporal bias — if the questionnaire was administered on a weekday morning, the sample will over-represent retired people and those with flexible schedules, while systematically excluding working-age adults, parents during school hours, and commuters. This means the results do not represent the full range of residents. Improvement: Stratify the survey by conducting it at three different times — a weekday morning, a weekday evening, and a weekend afternoon — then combine responses to produce a more representative sample across age groups and employment statuses.
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