Cheat sheet covering types of means and data presentation techniques and their advantages and disadvantages which act essentially as question formulas to cover all the marking points in OCR A-level Geography exams. A summary of the Human Development Index and how to analyse and use age-sex populati...
Geography Question Formulas
Advantages & disadvantages of types of averages – remember to quote data given to explain what each average shows!
1. Median – statistical measure of ‘middle’ value
- Easy and simple to calculate, can be presented graphically to make it easier to understand
- Unaffected by extreme values/anomalous results
- Can be used for qualitative categories
- Not ideal for data sets with an even number of values
- Tedious to calculate especially with large data sets
- Unsuitable for fractions or percentages
2. Mode – most common value
- Easy and simple to calculate, can be located graphically
- Unaffected by extreme values/anomalous results
- Can be used for qualitative categories
- No well defined
- Not based on all values
- Can’t do any more mathematical manipulation to it
3. Range – difference between highest and lowest
- Rigidly defined measure of dispersion so value is fixed
- Easy and simple to calculate
- May not be based on all values
- Affected by extreme values
- Can’t be calculated for values in classes
Advantages and disadvantages of certain methods of data presentation:
Top tip: take time to annotate data image before writing – you should be getting 3/3 every time!
Top tip: if the question asks about the usefulness of the source IN GENERAL rather than for a specific year, you can say the data
is out of date – add as a 4th point just in case its not accepted by the mark scheme
Photos: no quantitative data, snapshot in time, subjective
Choropleth maps:
1. Data may (adv.) or may not (disadv.) be available for every country
2. Colours make highest/greatest/etc. and lowest/smallest/etc. easy to distinguish (adv.) GIVE EXAMPLES
3. Easy to see patterns and trends (use keywords like LINEAR, CLUSTER, RANDOM dispersal) (adv.)
4. Colours of countries between highest and lowest are more difficult to distinguish (disadv.)
5. Colours often only show range of values rather than specific value and cannot show changes within countries over time or
regional differences within countries (disadv.)
6. Block shading of a single country does not indicate how many people as a percentage of the total population of the country
– HIDES SPATIAL VARIATION
Bar Charts/Pie Charts:
1. Easy for anyone to read as they are a common data presentation technique – must then explain what it shows you briefly
for development mark!
2. Does it tell you values for each slice/bar?
3. Does it tell you the total value of everything in the pie chart?
Line Graphs:
1. Good for showing trends over time – explain trend for DEV mark!
2. Simple + easy for anyone to read as common data presentation technique – explain what it shows for DEV mark!
3. Gradient of lines shows clear variation in rates of change - explain trend for DEV mark!
4. Shows exceptions + anomalies – give example for DEV mark!
5. How suitable is the scale? – state values on graph that are hard to distinguish between for DEV mark!
6. Gaps between points give false impression of continuous change between them – can hide temporal variation – state data is
discrete, not continuous with examples from graph for DEV mark!
7. What does the data not show you about the context/comparison?
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