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Full fieldwork exemplar GCSE Geography
Full fieldwork exemplar GCSE Geography to help you achieve full marks every fieldwork question and gain a grade 9!
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Geography fieldwork• Anomalies – data values which don’t match the pattern of a sample
• Local – tends to refer to a small area or region when considering the scale of study.
• National – referring to a nation or country; a scale of looking at things where particular countries
are the subject of study
• Primary data – data collected by students personally during fieldwork
• Qualitative data – data involving the quality or nature of something rather than its quantity; can
be used to refer to observations or opinions of people
• Quantitative data – data involving numerical values
• Regional – used to refer to the characteristics of a defined area within a larger area; the scale
can vary but within geography regions could include East Anglia or a district within a country; a
region is an area of land that has common features, which may be artificial, such as dialect,
language, religion, industry or administrative boundaries, or natural, such as climate or
landscape
• Scale – can refer to maps that are drawn at particular levels of detail; in geography, this often
refers to whether something is looked at from the local, regional, national or global level
• Secondary data – data collected from sources other than the student; may include published
material, reports from public bodies and the work of other people.
• Random sampling- is used where the area is the sea throughout. It does not matter where you
take the samples. Random sampling is achieved by generating random numbers and using
them as co-ordinates, such as co-ordinates to generate Ordnance Survey grid references.
• Systematic sampling- is used in places with an environmental gradient: where things change in
a regular fashion, such as traffic along a road. You could sample at ten equally spaced points
along a road to investigate changes in traffic density and flow. Every point should be evenly
spaced or distributed.
Physical investigation on the River Tillingbourne
Topic 1: Formulating enquiry questions
Sampling
Sample: a section that represents the whole of what is being measured
Why do we sample? Samples are inexpensive as they save energy and time, this is because you
don’t need to gather data on large areas, only a few sections are representative of a whole area of
study.
Random sampling:
• May reduce representation
• May reduce bias
• Correlates to each section
• Each area has an equal chance of being sampled
Systematic sampling:
• Systematic sampling involves measuring the variables at regular intervals
• Sites are chosen to be representative
• However these sights may be unsafe or inaccessible
Stratified sampling:
• Stratified sampling involves using background knowledge to represent chosen sites
• This means that the sites are accessible and safe but background knowledge may be limited
and results may be subject to bias
, The inquiry
Aim: The aim of our investigation was to investigate downstream changes in the discharge of the
River Tillingbourne
Variables needed to measure discharge:
1. Width
2. Depth
3. Velocity
Calculating discharge:
Width x depth x velocity
Hypothesis: I hypothesised that the width, depth and velocity would increase from the source
area towards the confluence of the Tillingbourne, in line with the Bradshaw Model.
Background information: The source of the River Tillingbourne is Wotton Common, located on
Leith Hill, which lies at 295m above sea level. The river flows for 19km through Friday Street,
Abinger Hammer, Gomshall, Shere, Albury, Chilworth and meets the River Wey at Shalford, at
which point it is at 32 meters above sea level. The river drains an area of 59km^2 which is
bordered to the north by the North Downs and to the south by the Greensand Hills.
The River Wey flows from Shalford where it meets the River Thames at Weybridge. The River
Thames flows through London, finally meeting the North Sea.
Measuring velocity
Method and justification
To measure velocity we used a systematic sampling method with a hydro prop flowmeter, which
measured the velocity of the river in meters per second.
We held the hydro-prop with the propeller facing upstream and used a stopwatch to measure how
long it took for the propellor to travel the distance of the rod. We took repeat velocity readings at
each site: the left-hand, centre and right-hand sides of the channel and calculated the mean
velocity. These readings formed one component in calculating river discharge.
Evaluation
One limitation of measuring river discharge was our data collection of river velocity. Obstacles
upstream, such as our other classmates standing in the water, may have reduced the river velocity
and the accuracy of our measurements. Additionally our hydro prop flowmeter stopped moving,
suggesting that the river was stagnant when it was flowing, this was because sediment could get
stuck in the meter, affecting the accuracy of our results.
In future, to improve this I would make people take it in turns to stand the furthest upstream and
calculate the mean average of these readings. Alternatively I could use an electronic hydro prop
flowmeter.
Measuring width
Method and justification
To measure width we used a systematic sampling method with a tape measure, which measured
the width of the river channel in meters. We held a tape measure taught perpendicular to the
bank, from one bank to the other along the water surface.
This demonstrated the level of lateral erosion acting on the side of the channel.
Evaluation
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