Presenting & Analysing Fieldwork Data

Why Presentation Matters

Raw fieldwork data is just numbers and notes. To answer a geographical question you need to present it in a form that lets you see patterns — and the form has to fit the data. Choosing the wrong graph or map throws marks away. The exam often shows you data in a table or graph and asks you to describe a trend, calculate a statistic, or pick a better way of presenting it. The same logic applies to your own investigation: every piece of data you collected should appear in your write-up in the form most suited to its type.

Common Graph Choices

A line graph shows continuous change — river velocity at sites 1–5 along a course, or pedestrian count over the day. A bar chart compares categories — types of land use in a CBD, or visitor age groups in a National Park. A pie chart shows shares of a whole — the proportion of vacant vs occupied shops — but only when categories add to 100%. A scatter graph tests a relationship between two variables — pebble size against distance downstream. A compound (stacked) bar shows two layers at once, e.g. occupied vs vacant shops at five sites.

Maps for Spatial Data

Maps are essential when location matters. A choropleth map shades areas by value — perfect for population density across a city or footfall categories across village zones. A flow-line map uses thick arrows to show movement — ideal for showing pedestrian flows along high streets, or river discharge at survey points. Proportional symbols place a circle or square at each site, sized to match the value — for example, footfall counts at five village locations.

Describing & Analysing Patterns

When the exam says ‘describe the pattern shown,’ you must do three things: state the overall trend, quote specific figures from the data, and identify any anomalies — sites or values that go against the pattern. A useful structure is TEA: Trend, Examples, Anomalies. So instead of writing ‘footfall increases from morning to lunchtime,’ write ‘footfall rose from 32/min at 9 a.m. to a peak of 78/min at 12:30, before falling to 41/min at 4 p.m.; site 4 was an anomaly with only 12/min, possibly because it lay on a back street.’

Statistical Tools

Edexcel expects you to be able to calculate basic statistics. The median is a useful average for skewed data such as pebble size, where one boulder can pull the mean. The interquartile range shows how spread out the data is. Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100; this often appears in change-over-time questions. Always show your working in the exam — calculations marks are easy to lose by missing units or not rounding clearly.

Conclusions That Answer the Question

A conclusion is not a description — it is a direct answer to the original enquiry question, supported by your own data and any wider geographical theory. The structure that scores well is: (1) restate the question, (2) state your overall finding, (3) quote two pieces of evidence, (4) link to a relevant model or case study, (5) acknowledge the most important limitation. For example: ‘Our investigation asked whether the river fits the Bradshaw model. Site 5 had three times the discharge of site 1, and pebble roundness rose from 1.2 to 3.4. This broadly supports the model, although the steep, narrow channel at site 3 was an anomaly — perhaps because of a recently engineered weir.’