Geographical Investigations: Fieldwork & Enquiry
This lesson covers the general fieldwork skills, terminology, and exam-paper expectations that apply to every student. The specific sites, data, and methods your class actually used will be different — for the case study you’ll write about in the exam, refer to your teacher’s notes and the data you collected on the day.
Geography You Can Touch
Fieldwork is what makes geography real. Reading about coastal erosion is one thing; actually measuring beach pebble shape, plotting wave fetch and explaining why one bay is wider than another is something else. The Edexcel B course requires every student to carry out two pieces of fieldwork — one in a physical environment (river or coast) and one in a human environment (urban or rural). The exam doesn’t test the result; it tests whether you understand the enquiry process.
The Six-Stage Enquiry Process
Edexcel sets out six stages and you need to know them in order. Stage 1: Formulating questions and hypotheses. A good enquiry question is specific and measurable: not ‘Is the river polluted?’ but ‘Does dissolved oxygen decline downstream of the weir?’. Stage 2: Selecting techniques and methods. Decide what to measure, how to measure it, and how often. Stage 3: Processing and presenting data. Choose appropriate graphs, maps and statistics. Stage 4: Analysis and explanation. Apply geographical theory to your findings. Stage 5: Drawing conclusions. State whether the hypothesis was supported by the evidence. Stage 6: Critical reflection. Evaluate accuracy, sample size, and what you would do differently.
The six enquiry stages run in order: questions, methods, presenting, analysis, conclusions, reflection. Any two stages can come up on any paper, so all six need to be solid.
Primary and Secondary Data
Primary data is what you collect yourself: pebble measurements at a beach, traffic counts in a town centre, questionnaires of residents. It’s tailored to your question. Secondary data is collected by someone else: census figures, Environment Agency flood maps, historical photographs, BGS geology maps. It’s already there but may not match your question exactly. Most enquiries combine both — primary data answers your specific question; secondary data sets the wider context.
Sampling: Why and How
You can’t measure every pebble on a beach or interview every resident. Sampling picks a manageable subset that represents the whole. Three main techniques: random sampling uses random numbers to choose locations — statistically unbiased but may miss important areas. Systematic sampling measures at fixed intervals (e.g. every 10 metres along a transect) — easy to plan, gives even coverage. Stratified sampling deliberately samples each subgroup (e.g. equal numbers from each ethnic group, age bracket or land-use type) — ensures every part of the population is represented.
Before any fieldwork, students must complete a risk assessment. Identify hazards (slippery rocks, traffic, cold water, deep mud, lone working in unfamiliar towns), rate the risk (low/medium/high) and list controls (work in pairs, keep below high-water mark, wear hi-vis, mobile phone). Naming the risk assessment when you evaluate your fieldwork shows professional conduct.
Presenting Data
Match the presentation method to the data type. Continuous data over time (river discharge, temperature) suit line graphs. Comparing categories (different beaches’ pebble sizes) suit bar charts. Showing patterns over space suit thematic maps (choropleth, isoline, proportional symbols, flow lines). Paired data suit scatter graphs with a line of best fit. Combine maps with photographs and field sketches for a richer presentation. A common question gives you a graph and asks you to suggest an alternative method — have a clear answer ready.
Random sampling is unbiased; systematic sampling gives even coverage; stratified sampling ensures every subgroup is represented. Most fieldwork uses a mix.
Analysis, Conclusions and Reflection
Analysis links your findings to wider geographical theory. If pebbles are smaller and rounder downstream, you can refer to attrition. If a town centre has lower environmental quality scores than the suburbs, you can refer to housing markets and accessibility. Conclusions answer the original question with a clear ‘yes/no/partly’ based on the evidence. Reflection — the most-overlooked stage — is where you evaluate accuracy, sample size, possible bias and what you’d change. Strong reflections suggest specific improvements: ‘more sampling sites between sites 3 and 4 would have captured the change in gradient’ or ‘questionnaires only at 11 a.m. missed working residents’.
For your physical environment, choose between investigating coastal change/conflict or river processes/pressures. Possible questions: ‘How effective are sea defences at Hornsea?’; ‘Does river discharge increase downstream on the River Holme?’. For your human environment, choose between dynamic urban areas or changing rural areas. Possible questions: ‘How does environmental quality vary across Birmingham’s wards?’; ‘Why do rural deprivation indices vary across Cumbria?’. Each requires at least one quantitative method and one qualitative method.