Imagery &
Fieldwork Inquiry
Inquiry process
Ask
questions
Evaluate the Collect
process data
Draw Process &
conclusions present data
Analysis and
application of
wider
understanding
What is the geographical
inquiry process?
This involves asking questions about
geographical processes or concepts.
It includes:
questioning spatial patterns (e.g.
urban land uses, flood risk,
vegetation on a sand dune)
geographical processes/ change
(e.g. urban regeneration, river
or coastal processes)
testing hypotheses
© 2017 Snowdonia National Park Authority SNPA
Choosing a question
Why have all these shops closed down? What’s happening here?
Why is it so windy here?
What can I do?
How has that been formed?
Why is it like this?
Is the landscape being damaged?
Why are there so many people here?
Be curious!
Rivers – what questions can
be asked?
Rivers – what questions
can be asked?
What are the river
landforms?
What river processes are
operating?
How is the surrounding land
used by people?
How do human activities
affect the river processes
and landforms?
Does the river flood?
What are the
characteristics of the river
meander?
Possible investigative
questions:
Urban Coasts
What changes have taken What is the evidence of
place in the town? longshore drift?
What are the main How has coastal
functions in Builth Wells? management affected
Is there a clearly processes and landforms?
demarked central area? How does sediment
Is there a risk of river change along the beach?
flooding in the town? Does the beach profile
What is the town’s change with distance
sphere of influence? along the beach?
Rural settlements – what
questions can be asked?
What is the evidence of
change?
Is the town a commuter
town?
What are the
environmental issues?
Is there a risk of
flooding?
Is the town growing or
declining?
Microclimates – what
questions can be asked?
Are there microclimatic
changes across a valley?
Does land use affect
microclimate?
How does vegetation
affect microclimate?
Is there a heat island in
a village?
How do weather
conditions affect
microclimates?
Tourism – what questions can
be asked?
What are the
environmental impacts
of tourism?
Where do tourists come
from?
Why are tourists
attracted to the area?
What is the evidence
that this is a honeypot
site?
What makes a good investigation?
• Accessible location
• Safe environment
• Data can be collected or found within a few
hours
• Appropriate scale
• It is connected to cultural identity, sense of
place, perception of place
• It can tell a compelling story
• Imaging and visual techniques can be used in
data collection or display
Inquiry process
Ask
questions
Evaluate the Collect
process data
Draw Process &
conclusions present data
Analysis and
application of
wider
understanding
How is evidence collected?
This involves using appropriate equipment to obtain
accurate and reliable data from both primary and
secondary sources
It includes:
Selecting appropriate locations for data collection
Collecting data using quantitative and qualitative
techniques
How to obtain accurate and
reliable results
Fieldwork involves collecting accurate data to enable us to draw
reliable conclusions:
practice using unfamiliar equipment
take time and care to make sure the data you collect is precise
and accurate
double-check your measurements
record your results accurately
Quantitative techniques
Techniques could include those that measure:
flow (for example, discharge, infiltration, traffic)
scale (for example, river width, pebble size, gradient)
spatial pattern (for example, retail land use, sediment
sorting)
temporal change (for example, temperature, rainfall,
pressure)
Qualitative techniques
• Field and participant
observation
• Photography
• Surveys
Secondary sources
Crime data Consumer Data Research Centre
Crime data
Raw data from [Link] website. Crime map for Keighley Median house price in Keighley, West Yorkshire by CDRC / Contains
by [Link] / Contains public sector information licensed National Statistics & Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright & database
under the Open Government Licence v3.0. right 2014-5.
Secondary sources
Natural Resources Wales – satellite flood risk map
Secondary sources
British Geological Survey – Geology of Britain
[Link]
Secondary sources
Aerial and satellite photos – Ynyslas sand dunes
Inquiry process
Ask
questions
Evaluate the Collect
process data
Draw Process &
conclusions present data
Analysis and
application of
wider
understanding
How can data be processed
and presented?
Data can be presented in the form of maps, graphs and diagrams.
The presentation of data helps to visualise and identify trends,
patterns and relationships.
Maps – these can include sketch maps, geological maps, OS
maps and GIS or satellite images. Maps can be annotated or
used as base maps for located symbols (bars, circles, pies).
Make sure you always include a scale and a north arrow.
Graphs – these can include line graphs, bar graphs, histograms,
pie charts and scatter graphs. Make sure you always label the
axes and use the same scale if drawing comparative graphs.
Diagrams – diagrams can be used to illustrate processes and
landforms, systems and cycles, for example, how the process
of longshore drift affects coastal landforms.
Sketch map
How could this sketch be used to present data? Could it be improved?
Ordnance Survey map
(1:50,000)
How useful is this map scale for a geographical investigation?
What could be plotted on this map?
Ordnance Survey map
(1:25,000)
How useful is this map scale for a geographical investigation?
What could be plotted on this map?
Flowline map showing number and direction of
buses to the town of Skinningrove
Could this map be improved?
Isoline map showing
pedestrians in Wolverhampton
Isolines are lines drawn on a map connecting data
points of the same value.
Using GIS to present data
Using GIS to present data
Using word clouds to present
data
Inquiry process
Ask
questions
Evaluate the Collect
process data
Draw Process &
conclusions present data
Analysis and
application of
wider
understanding
How can evidence be
analysed?
When analysing your data you need to:
Identify – this involves a description of your results
Analyse – this involves explanation and reasoning
Interpret – this involves making sense of your results in
the broader context of your geographical understanding
What are ‘trends’ and ‘patterns’?
Trends are changes that
take place usually over
time or distance
Patterns suggest a degree of
regularity in the distribution of data.
The term is most often applied to
mapped data but can also apply to
graphs such as pie charts
When analysing and
interpreting results:
Provide comments, describing the overall
patterns of trends illustrated by diagram,
imagery, or map
Refer to specific details to support your
comments (e.g. facts and figures)
Identify any exceptions or anomalies, e.g.
a value that doesn’t fit the trend
Make use of your wider geographics,
environmental, scientific, and cultural
knowledge.
Inquiry process
Ask
questions
Evaluate the Collect
process data
Draw Process &
conclusions present data
Analysis and
application of
wider
understanding
How to draw conclusions?
When writing your conclusion you need to:
Synthesise your findings – this means pulling it all together
by writing a broad overview of your results as a whole
Reach evidenced conclusions – back up your overall
concluding (summary) statements with evidence
Appreciate that geography can be ‘messy’ – the real world
is complex and you don’t always get what you expect! Be
prepared to suggest possible reasons for unexpected results.
‘Messy’ coasts
The position of the tide on the beach can affect
data collection and could lead to unreliable
Access may be
limited to parts of
the beach or sand
dunes
Weather conditions (e.g. stroms)
can affect waves, coastal
Human activity, such as management,
processes and coastal landforms
tourism and coastal defences can affect
coastal processes and landforms
‘Messy’ tourism
Extreme weather conditions will affect
people’s behaviour and may give
unexpected or biased results
Access may be limited to some
areas which will affect tourist
patterns and numbers
Infrequent events, such as
festivals or the arrival of a coach
party may give unexpected and
Time of day and time of year will have a
unrepresentative results
huge effect on tourism and might introduce
bias
Inquiry process
Ask
questions
Evaluate the Collect
process data
Draw Process &
conclusions present data
Analysis and
application of
wider
understanding
How to evaluate the
inquiry process?
Identify the limitations of geographical evidence - accuracy,
reliability and bias
Reflect critically on the strengths and limitations of both
primary and secondary data, methods used, conclusions drawn
and knowledge gained
Appreciate that stakeholders may have vested interests
introducing bias.
How to evaluate the inquiry
process?
When evaluating the inquiry process you need to comment
on:
Accuracy – how accurate were your measurements and
other forms of data collection?
Reliability – how reliable were your results and
subsequent conclusions?
Bias – to what extent were your results truly
representative?
Coasts: what are the strengths and
limitations of satellite photos?
Tourism: what are the strengths
and limitations of historic photos?
Evaluating your conclusion
How might your results be different on another day or
at a different time of year?
To what extent did the weather affect the reliability
your enquiry conclusions?
How might limitations and potential inaccuracies in your
data collection have affected the reliability of your
conclusions?
Could inaccurate or inappropriate diagram construction
have affected your conclusions?