Safety

Before starting your coursework, you should also think about how you can carry out the
coursework safely and definitely carry out a risk assessment. You can make your
coursework safer by doing the following:

1. Protection from the weather (waterproof jacket, umbrella, hat, suncream)

2. Sensible dress (remember you will be representing your school, but you should
also wear clothes that don't draw attention to yourself

3. Always carry out coursework in groups

4. Always tell an adult or teacher where you area carrying out coursework

5. Always carry a mobile phone with you

6. Never do coursework near a river or the sea without an adult or teacher and without
them checking that it is safe

7. Carry out coursework in day light and wear reflective clothes

8. Check that your study area is safe. For example it wouldn't be safe walking around
downtown San Salvador

9. Don't display valuables making you more vulnerable to crime e.g. if you have a
camera or a phone keep it out of sight

Primary data: Any data that is personally collected by you (this does not mean collecting
off the internet). Primary data may include traffic counts, pedestrian counts, environmental
indexes, questionnaires or land use surveys.

Secondary Data: Any data that has been collected by someone else. Secondary data
collection maybe found in books, on the internet, in academic journals, etc. Probably the
most useful secondary data is census data.
Sampling -

Sampling is the process of measuring a small number of sites or people in order to obtain
a perspective on all sites and people.
Why do geographers use sampling?
• Sampling is quicker
• Sampling is cheaper
• Often it is impossible to access whole population

A sample needs to be representative of the whole population. Representative means how

closely the characteristics of the sample match the characteristics of the population

An unrepresentative sample is biased. In a biased sample, some elements of the

population are less likely to be included than others. In Geography fieldwork, times of day,
week and year, the choice of locations to collect data, and the weather can all lead to bias.
Random Sampling: This is when every area or person in your study area has an equal
chance of being selected or asked. Random sampling can be done by pulling names out of
a hat, by using a random number table or a random number generator on a calculator.

Systematic Sampling: This is when you collect data in a regular pattern. For example you
may ask a questionnaire to every 10th person that passes you, or you might only record
the land use every 50 metres or every 5th building. When recording changes in river
depth, beach profile or changes in vegetation you may only take a sample every 5 metres.

Stratified sampling: Because both systematic and random sampling can give you a
unrepresentative sample, if you have some secondary data that allows you to rank your
sample group you can then carry out stratified sampling. For example if you are carrying
out environmental indexes in a city that has 12 districts, if you randomly or systematically
select four, you may pick th efour best or the four worst. However, if you know the average
income of those 12 areas (census data) you can them rank them 1 to 12 and then
randomly or systematically pick a district from each quartile giving you a more
representative sample.
1. Questionnaires,- the successful design of questionnaires, e.g. layout,
format of questions, the appropriate wording of questions and the number of
questions. Below is an example of a well designed questionnaire. Why?

Its not too long or time consuming to people are more likely to complete it
 It has many CLOSED questions ( tick boxes), that are quick and easy to
complete.

It is well worded without inappropriate or leading questions.

It has the OPEN questions at the end, so respondents can provide additional
information or responses that you might not have considered.

Open ended questions: These are questions that have infinite numbers of
answers. The respondent has no restriction on how they might answer e.g.
What have you enjoyed about your holiday in Geneva?

Closed questions: These are when there is a limited number of responses.

These questions are often multiple choice in style e.g.
What have you enjoyed about Geneva? A: The people B: The weather C:
The lakes D: The Old Town E: Other

Observation – the recording of land use in an urban area

observations of river or coastal features.

Land use: Land use survey are a very common form of data collection. When carrying out
a land use survey you first need to think of appropriate categories e.g. restaurants, clothes
shops, banks, houses, etc. You then then need to decide whether you are just looking at
total numbers or spatial distribution. If you are just looking at total numbers then you can
make a simple tally chart, if you look at spatial distribution you need a base map and an
appropriate key. When doing a land use survey you also need to decide if you are
surveying every building or just taking a sample.
Pedestrian and traffic Counts – When designing traffic and pedestrian counts Keep the
forms simple.

Have an area for the tally and an area to add up the total.

It also is very important to have a place to mark down the date, time and location of the
count. This is important for when you return to the classroom and start data presentation
and making comparisons.

When ever doing a count you need to find a safe location and carry it out for 10 minutes.

If you are comparing different locations you should and do the counts at the same time,
this makes comparisons fair. For example if you did one traffic count at 08.00am when
everyone was travelling to work and one at 11.00am when everyone is at work then the
comparison is unfair.

Tallies are usually used when doing counts because they are quick and simple.
_______________________________________________________________________
Indexes / Surveys
Indexes are quite subjective (one person might think one crisp packet is a lot of litter while
enough might think it is hardly ant litter), therefore, to keep the indexes consistent for
comparisons you should do them in groups and one group should do all the same index
e.g. group 1 only does environmental indexes, group 2 does the residential quality
index

Like with counts, it is very important that you write down the date, time and location of
the index and that where possible indexes are done at the same time.

▪
Measurement – Equipment

Knowledge of the equipment used in measurement is required, such

as the quadrat,
the clinometer
the pebbleometer or callipers.

T
Candidates should be familiar with river measurements of :

Rivers
Revise with this website:

https://www.geography-fieldwork.org/gcse/rivers/river-processes/fieldwork/
#primary-nav

• channel width,
• depth,
• speed of flow
• the size and shape of bedload.

Coasts
Revise with this website:

https://www.geography-fieldwork.org/gcse/coasts/coastal-processes/fieldwork/

• beach studies of beach profile,

• the size and shape of pebbles
• and the movement of beach material (longshore drift)

and weather study instruments

IGCSE Weather
Describe how weather data is collected

• Describe and explain the characteristics, siting and use made of a Stevenson
screen

• Rain gauge, maximum-minimum thermometer, wet-and-dry bulb thermometer

(hygrometer), sunshine recorder, barometer, anemometer and wind vane, along
with simple digital instruments which can be used for weather observations;
observations of types and amounts of cloud

Locating weather stations

♣ They should be on short grass. (Concrete reflects heat, tarmac
absorbs it.)
♣ They should be in an open area away from obstacles like buildings &
trees so there is no shade or protection from the wind or rain

Stevenson’s Screen: Contains the thermometers.

• Painted white to reflect the sun with a double lid for insulation.
 •Slatted sides to let the
air circulate, but slanted
downwards to prevent
light getting in.

•Legs 1m long to prevent

heating from ground.

• On short grass so it’s

standardised i.e. same
amount of reflectivity.

1. Rain gauge: Is a fixed diameter so that they collect the same amount of
water & so comparisons can be made.

• Made of a hollow cylinder (C) containing:

•Funnel (A) to collect the water.

•A container to collect the water. This might be

graduated or water can be poured into a
measuring cylinder.

•It is emptied once every 24hrs at the same time.

Rain is measured in millimetres.

• Is sunk into the ground, but not level with the

surface so that splashes or surface water cannot
get into it.

2. Maximum-minimum thermometer: Records max. & min. temps. over a

24hr period.
• Maximum thermometer contains mercury the minimum
contains alcohol.
• As temperature rises mercury expands & pushes up a
metal index when it cools & mercury contracts the index
is left in place at highest temp.

• As temperature falls alcohol contracts & pulls metal

index with it, but as the alcohol expands it flows passed
the index leaving it in place at the lowest temp.

• Both indexes are read once every 24hrs from

the bottom of the index.

3. Wet and dry bulb thermometer

(hygrometer): Dry bulb is a normal mercury thermometer it
measures actual air temp.

•Wet bulb is the same but the bulb is covered with a fine cloth
which is connected to a reservoir of water.

Water evaporates from the cloth & cools the temperature so it

reads a few degrees lower than air temp.

• Both the wet & dry bulb temperatures are

read.

4. Barometer: Measure air pressure.

• An aneroid barometer has a corrugated chamber
containing a vacuum.
• As air pressure rises & falls the chamber contracts &
expands.
• Levers conduct this movement to a spindle which moves
the pointer on the dial which records the air pressure in
mm of mercury.

5. Anemometer: Measures wind speed.

• Three light rotating cups are blown around by the wind the revolutions are
counted & converted into; metres per sec.; km per hour; knots etc.

6. Wind vane: Records wind direction.

• The fang is blown by the wind so that the arrow head points into the wind.
• Both are mounted on a high pole.
Cloud types:
Cumulus: These clouds usually have flat bases lumpy tops & distinctive
boundaries.
Cumulonimbus: The cloud type associated with a thunderstorm & heavy
rain, (at high levels cooled water droplets convert to ice crystals).
Altocumulus: These clouds are a good indicator of medium level instability
and high moisture content -and often the precursor for widespread thunder
activity within the following 24 to 48 hours.
Stratocumulus: Low-level cloud type, varying from thin, well broken layers
with little impact for general weather, to deep, sometimes unstable character,
and a risk of moderate turbulence & moderate icing. Little rain.
Nimbostratus: Heavy cloud layer, often dark in appearance. Often combined
with continuous falling rain/drizzle or snow
Stratus: Are thin-layered clouds
• Are low to the earth’s surface
• Look like stripes or streaks in the sky.
• No rain.
Cirrus: Thin because they form in the higher levels of the atmosphere where
little water vapor is present. No rain. Made of ice crystals

Weather symbols
Cloud cover is measured in eighths: Hold the sheet directly above your head
& estimate the cloud cover directly above you.