Geographical Skills and Fieldwork

What you'll learn

How to plan, carry out and evaluate a geographical enquiry.

The enquiry process

1. Hypothesis: a clear, testable statement.
2. Data collection: primary (fieldwork) and secondary (existing sources); choose a sampling method (random, systematic, stratified).
3. Presentation: suitable graphs, maps and diagrams.
4. Analysis and conclusion with reference to data.
5. Evaluation: limitations and improvements.

Map skills

• Grid references, contour lines, scale and direction on OS maps.

Exam tips

• Justify why a method or sampling type suits the enquiry.
• Always evaluate reliability and suggest improvements.

Common mistakes

• Vague, untestable hypotheses.
• Choosing an unsuitable graph for the data.