Page 100 - The World About Us

Fieldwork
3

What are the stages in the enquiry process?

Ques onnaires about the reasons 5. Selecting the data. of best fit suggest no correla on. The
for visi ng Salford Quays, for example, Once the data has been collected, human brain is very good at iden fying
may give different results if the data is it can be collated (brought together) if pa erns within data displayed visually.
collected during a summer arts fes val, more than one group was involved. At 7. Analysing the data.
the week before Christmas or just this stage it may be possible to discard
before kick-off at Manchester United’s some elements of the data. Once the data has been presented
Old Trafford. As students you may not Ques onnaire data may be filtered so the task of the geographer is to analyse
have much choice about the me you that it more closely resembles the it. Looking for pa erns is a good start.
are allowed out of school for fieldwork. popula on as a whole. However, Test the hypothesis against the data
You should be aware of any limita ons deciding which data to use and which collected. Does this data tend to prove
when you evaluate your results. or disprove the hypothesis?
to reject can be a difficult task and
d) How is the data to be recorded? could impact on your final conclusions. Fieldwork with key ques ons may
Knowing what data is essen al 6. Presenting the data. be far more open to interpreta on than
should help you design a data that with a testable hypothesis. In such
collec on sheet. This should be laid out The data can next be presented in cases, it is important that close
a en on is paid to the evidence. How
in such a way that you cannot forget to appropriate graphical formats. It is far does it go in answering the key
record all vital data whilst 'in the field'. usually easier to iden fy a pa ern by
looking at data plo ed on a graph or ques on? Geographers must always be
4. Collecting the data. map, than in a simple table of results. aware of bias, including their own,
With a method planned, the data However, the method should be when answering ques ons.
needs to be collected. At this stage it appropriate. Just because the data can 8. Drawing a conclusion.
may be appropriate to adjust the be put through 'insert chart' on Excel,
With the data analysed and
methodology to take into account the doesn't mean that the selected method discussed, the researcher should be
condi ons in the field. This could be for is the best way to show the data.
able to draw a conclusion, related to
health and safety reasons or access Some methods of data presenta on the hypothesis or key ques on. The
problems. The reasons for any changes can also be used to analyse the data. strength of the conclusion must relate
should be recorded so that they can be Sca er graphs, plo ed with a ‘line of
referred to later. best fit’, are excellent for presen ng to the actual data.
data collected in pairs. For example, 9. Evaluating the fieldwork.
Risk assessment distance downstream plo ed against a Once the conclusion has been
How am I going to ensure I river’s width, depth or velocity. drawn, it is essen al to evaluate the
The slope of the line of best fit whole process. This can iden fy errors
stay safe? in methodology or bias within the data.
shows whether there is a posi ve
Safety during fieldwork is of correla on (line rises from le to right) You may have iden fied problems
paramount importance. This is where a or nega ve correla on (line falls from along the way, but been unable to
careful risk-assessment process is le to right). Clustering of the data change the methods. The evalua on is
important before collec ng any data in near to the line of best fit will suggest where any weakness in methodology
the field. Every school will have to carry a strong correla on. Widely spaced can be discussed, in rela on to the
out extensive risk assessments prior to points with no rela onship to the line results and if that requires an adjust-
allowing their students to leave the ment to the final conclusion.
classroom to take part in fieldwork.
Evaluating methods, questioning conclusions
The risk assessment process
Some geography students visited Grasmere in the Lake District to see if it was a
involves three stages: 1, iden fying all ‘honeypot’ site. They found very few tourists to answer their ques ons. Most respondents
possible dangers and risks in the were local people, either visi ng the Post Office or mee ng friends. Most were over 65. The
ac vity; 2, highligh ng the poten al students concluded that Grasmere was not a ‘honeypot site’ for tourists.
severity of each risk or hazard and the They collected their data on a Tuesday morning in Fig.264 Where are the people?
probability of that hazard occurring; 3,
February. On evalua on they may recognised that a cold
iden fying which steps should be and windy February was not a good me to collect data in
taken to reduce either the probability, Grasmere. Further, Tuesday was tradi onally the me
or the possible severity of the hazard, elderly people from the surrounding villages collected their
and communica ng this to everyone pensions from the Grasmere Post Office. Evalua on of their
involved. No ac vity is risk free, but the method suggested a change of ming: the same ques ons
purpose of risk assessment is to reduce would have to be asked again on weekends, and during the
spring and summer, to gain a more representa ve set of
those risks to a minimum.
results. Only then could a proper conclusion be drawn.

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Geography fieldwork.