IGCSE Geography / Fieldwork - the enquiry process
Primary and secondary data, quantitative and qualitative
Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1), chapter 10: Fieldwork - the enquiry process, specification point E4, G4. Free lesson.
Read the revision notes · IGCSE Geography past papers
Fieldwork data has two separate labels: who collected it, and whether it is numbers or descriptions. Knowing these labels helps you choose data, explain methods and judge how good your results are.
Who collected the data?
Primary data is collected by you in the field for your enquiry. Secondary data was collected by somebody else for their own purpose. An enquiry needs your own data as well as at least two secondary sources. Primary examples include river width, pebble sizes, a pedestrian count and a questionnaire. It is up to date and fits your question, but usually covers only a small sample, in one place, on one day. Secondary examples include census data, a geology map and old photographs. It can cover a larger area or longer time, but may be out of date and you may not know how it was collected.…
Is it numbers, or words and pictures?
This label describes the kind of data, not who collected it. Quantitative data is measured, counted or scored. Qualitative data uses descriptions and opinions. Each is useful in a different way. Quantitative examples include velocity, beach slope, a quality score and ticked answers to closed questions. Numbers can be averaged, graphed and compared between sites, but they show what happened rather than why. Qualitative examples include field sketches, annotated photographs, interviews and answers to open questions. They show what a place is like and can give reasons, but are harder to…
Give each piece of data two labels
The two pairs work independently: one label tells you who collected the data, and the other tells you what kind it is. So secondary data is not always qualitative. Pebble sizes you measured with callipers: primary and quantitative. Your annotated photograph of a street: primary and qualitative. Census figures for the town: secondary and quantitative. A newspaper report on a past flood: secondary and qualitative.
Explain what a method measures and why
A method answer needs more than a list of equipment. Explain what you measured, how you measured it, and why it helped the enquiry. The purpose links the measurement to the question or hypothesis.
Make data accurate and reliable
Accurate data is close to the true value. Reliable data gives the same result if you repeat the method. The right equipment, used properly, improves accuracy. Repeats and a consistent method improve reliability. For a beach enquiry, callipers that read to the nearest millimetre are more accurate than a ruler held by eye. For a river enquiry, take three float timings at each site and calculate the mean for greater reliability. For a town count, a tally counter helps avoid missing pedestrians. Two counts at each site, at the same time of day, improve reliability.
Record readings clearly and repeat measurements
Prepare a recording sheet before the trip and fill it in at the site. Clear headings and space for repeats help everyone record results in the same way. Writing readings down straight away also reduces mistakes.