What you'll learn
Fieldwork means collecting your own geographical data outside the classroom and using it to answer a question. For Edexcel GCSE Geography you must carry out fieldwork in both a physical and a human environment, and you will be examined on it. This guide covers the enquiry process — from choosing a question and hypothesis, through data collection, sampling, data presentation and analysis, to reaching conclusions and evaluating the investigation — with examples from typical river, coastal and urban fieldwork. It also covers risk assessment and how to answer questions about unfamiliar fieldwork contexts.
Fieldwork questions ask you to justify methods, explain sampling choices, identify suitable presentation techniques, interpret results, and evaluate the reliability of your data and conclusions. Referring precisely to your own investigations earns marks.
Key terms and definitions
Enquiry question — The question the investigation aims to answer.
Hypothesis — A statement that can be tested, such as "river velocity increases with distance downstream".
Primary data — Data you collect yourself, such as measurements, counts and questionnaires.
Secondary data — Data collected by someone else, such as census data, maps and websites.
Quantitative data — Numerical data, such as river depth or pedestrian counts.
Qualitative data — Non-numerical data, such as photographs, field sketches and opinions.
Sampling — Selecting a smaller number of sites or people to represent the whole.
Random sampling — Each site or person has an equal chance of being chosen.
Systematic sampling — Choosing sites or people at regular intervals.
Stratified sampling — Dividing the population into groups and sampling each in proportion.
Accuracy — How close a measurement is to the true value.
Reliability — Whether repeating the investigation would give similar results.
Risk assessment — Identifying hazards and planning how to reduce them.
Core concepts
The enquiry process
- Choose a question and hypothesis. The question should be geographical, specific and possible to investigate. For example: How do river channel characteristics change downstream? Hypothesis: Channel width and depth increase with distance downstream.
- Plan the investigation, including location, methods, equipment, sampling and risk assessment.
- Collect primary and secondary data.
- Present the data using appropriate techniques.
- Analyse the data to identify patterns, trends and anomalies.
- Draw conclusions that answer the question and accept or reject the hypothesis.
- Evaluate the methods, data and conclusions.
Choosing a location
A good location is safe, accessible, relevant to the question and allows enough data to be collected. For a river study, sites should cover a stretch from upstream to downstream; for an urban study, sites might run along a transect from the city centre outwards.
Physical fieldwork methods
Rivers:
- Width — measured with a tape stretched across the channel from bank to bank.
- Depth — measured with a metre ruler at regular intervals across the channel.
- Velocity — measured by timing a float over a set distance, or using a flow meter.
- Sediment size and shape — measured with a ruler or callipers and compared with a roundness chart.
Coasts:
- Beach profile — measured using ranging poles and a clinometer at regular intervals from the sea to the back of the beach.
- Sediment size along the beach, to investigate longshore drift.
- Groyne height on either side, to compare sediment build-up.
Human fieldwork methods
- Questionnaires and interviews — to find people's views, such as on regeneration or quality of life.
- Pedestrian and traffic counts — counting people or vehicles for a set time at each site.
- Environmental quality surveys — scoring features such as litter, noise and building condition on a scale.
- Land-use mapping — recording the use of buildings along a transect.
- Photographs and field sketches — recording qualitative evidence.
Sampling
Sampling is needed because it is impossible to measure everywhere or ask everyone.
- Random sampling reduces bias but may miss important areas.
- Systematic sampling (for example, every 100 m along a river or every tenth person) gives even coverage but may miss patterns between sampling points.
- Stratified sampling ensures each group is represented in proportion — for example, interviewing people of different age groups in proportion to the local population.
Larger samples generally produce more reliable results.
Secondary data
Secondary data provides context and allows comparison: census data on population and deprivation, Environment Agency flood maps and river data, historical maps, crime statistics and online sources. Its reliability depends on who collected it, when and why.
Presenting data
Choose techniques that suit the data:
- Bar charts for comparing categories.
- Line graphs for continuous change, such as velocity downstream.
- Scatter graphs for relationships between two variables, with a line of best fit.
- Cross-sections for river channel shape.
- Beach profiles for coastal gradients.
- Pie charts for proportions.
- Maps with proportional symbols or flow lines, for spatial patterns.
- Annotated photographs and field sketches for qualitative evidence.
- Radar charts for environmental quality scores.
Analysing data
Describe the pattern or trend, quote figures, identify anomalies (results that do not fit the pattern) and suggest reasons. Simple statistics help: mean, median, mode, range and percentage change. A scatter graph shows whether there is a positive, negative or no correlation.
Conclusions
A conclusion should answer the enquiry question, state whether the hypothesis is accepted or rejected, and support this with evidence from the data, linking it to geographical theory — for example, the Bradshaw model, which predicts that river width, depth and velocity increase downstream.
Evaluation
Evaluate the whole investigation:
- Methods — were they accurate? For example, timing floats can be affected by wind and by the float catching on the bank.
- Sampling — was the sample large enough and representative?
- Data — were there errors, anomalies or gaps? Was the weather unusual?
- Reliability — would repeating the investigation give the same results?
- Conclusions — how far are they supported by the evidence?
- Improvements — more sites, repeated measurements, different times of day or year, more accurate equipment.
Risk assessment
Identify hazards and how to reduce them:
- Rivers — risk of slipping or deep water: wear suitable footwear, work in groups, check water levels and weather, avoid fast-flowing water.
- Coasts — risk of tides and cliff falls: check tide times and stay away from cliff bases.
- Urban areas — risk from traffic and strangers: work in groups, use pavements and crossings, carry identification and stay in public places.
Unfamiliar fieldwork
You may be asked about a fieldwork investigation you did not carry out. Apply the same principles: comment on the suitability of the question, location, methods and sampling, interpret the data shown, and suggest improvements.
A worked investigation: changes downstream
A class measured a small river at five sites, 1 km apart, to test the hypothesis that channel width, depth and velocity increase with distance downstream.
| Site | Distance from source (km) | Width (m) | Mean depth (m) | Velocity (m/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1.2 | 0.10 | 0.20 |
| 2 | 2 | 1.8 | 0.15 | 0.25 |
| 3 | 3 | 2.5 | 0.22 | 0.18 |
| 4 | 4 | 3.1 | 0.28 | 0.35 |
| 5 | 5 | 3.9 | 0.34 | 0.40 |
Analysis. Width increases steadily from 1.2 m to 3.9 m, and mean depth from 0.10 m to 0.34 m, so both support the hypothesis. Velocity generally increases from 0.20 m/s to 0.40 m/s, but Site 3 is an anomaly at 0.18 m/s. A possible reason is that the measurements at Site 3 were taken on a meander bend or where vegetation slowed the flow, or the float caught on the bank.
Statistics. The mean velocity across the five sites is (0.20 + 0.25 + 0.18 + 0.35 + 0.40) ÷ 5 = 1.38 ÷ 5 = 0.276 m/s. The range is 0.40 − 0.18 = 0.22 m/s. The median, from the ordered values 0.18, 0.20, 0.25, 0.35, 0.40, is 0.25 m/s.
Conclusion. The hypothesis is largely accepted: width and depth increase consistently downstream, and velocity mostly increases, matching the Bradshaw model, apart from one anomaly.
Evaluation. Only five sites were used; more sites and repeated velocity readings at each would improve reliability. Measurements were all made on one day after dry weather, so results may differ after heavy rain.
Practising with a table like this prepares you for the data-analysis questions on unfamiliar fieldwork.
Worked examples
Example 1: Justifying a method
Explain why systematic sampling was used to choose sites along a river. (2 marks)
Answer: Systematic sampling gives sites at regular intervals along the river (1), so changes downstream can be measured evenly without bias in site choice (1).
Example 2: Choosing a presentation technique
Suggest a suitable way to present data on river velocity at five sites downstream. Justify your choice. (2 marks)
Answer: A line graph (1), because it shows how velocity changes continuously with distance downstream (1).
Example 3: Evaluating reliability
Suggest two ways to improve the reliability of a pedestrian count. (4 marks)
Answer: Repeat the count several times at each site and calculate an average (1), which reduces the effect of unusual results (1). Carry out counts at the same time of day at every site (1), so that differences are due to location rather than time (1).
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Vague methods. State the equipment, procedure and number of readings.
- Confusing accuracy and reliability.
- Choosing an unsuitable graph, such as a pie chart for continuous data.
- Conclusions without evidence. Quote figures from your results.
- Evaluations that only say "use more people". Give specific, justified improvements.
- Forgetting risk assessment in planning questions.
Exam technique for "Fieldwork"
- Learn the details of your own two investigations: question, location, methods, sampling, results and conclusions.
- Use geographical terms: hypothesis, primary and secondary data, systematic sampling, anomaly, reliability.
- For "justify" questions, explain why the choice suited the investigation.
- In evaluations, consider methods, sampling, data and conclusions, and suggest improvements.
Quick revision summary
- Enquiry process: question and hypothesis → planning → data collection → presentation → analysis → conclusions → evaluation.
- Physical methods: river width, depth, velocity, sediment; beach profiles and sediment.
- Human methods: questionnaires, counts, environmental quality surveys, land-use mapping, photographs.
- Sampling: random, systematic, stratified; larger samples are more reliable.
- Present data with suitable graphs and maps; analyse patterns, figures and anomalies.
- Conclusions answer the question with evidence; evaluate accuracy, reliability and improvements.
- Plan for safety with a risk assessment.