Question 2 – the Fieldwork question
Name ………………….……………………….
Answering the examination questions.
Questions that have a tariff of less than 5 marks are point marked. They will often be used for the opening question
which asks about the initial aim, research questions and hypotheses that formed the basis of the fieldwork. It is
important that you recognise that here one mark will be awarded for each correct idea that you state. Although it is
possible to gain more than one mark for any one sentence, and simple rule of thumb should be one sentence (with one
idea) for one mark.
All of the questions of 5 marks or more are marked using a levels’ marking system. For all such questions on Unit 2
there is a maximum of two levels.
Level 1 is reserved for answers that:
 Are general – not specific to the fieldwork undertaken
 Are basic or simple in terms of description and explanation
 Are brief in extent – only one or two short sentences
 Answer only one of the command words where there are two in the question
Level 2 is awarded to answers that:
 Are specific to the piece of fieldwork undertaken
 Have a clear sense of place
 Are detailed in terms of description and explanation
 Give accurate and detailed results, including anomalies
 Offer some commentary or evaluation on the techniques used or results found
 Respond to both command words where there are two in the question
Some sample questions/answers:
Aims/hypotheses
Using examples from an investigation which you have undertaken:
(a) state the aim of your investigation and two hypotheses. (3 marks)
Mark scheme.
Point marked. Clear aim; indication of one hypothesis; well-stated hypotheses for full marks.
Answer 1.
Our aim was to investigate a river channel and find out if the efficiency of the river increased with distance from the
source and if the velocity increased with distance from the source. Our two hypotheses were: velocity increases with
distance from the source; efficiency increases with distance from the source.
Answer 2.
The aim is to discover how a river changes as it moves downstream and how human interference has added to the
changes. Hypothesis 1 – as you move downstream the bedload of the river will become more sorted. The stones will
be smaller and more rounded. Hypothesis 2 – as you move downstream the wetted perimeter will decrease.
Aims/Presentation
(a) Outline the aim(s) of your study and state two hypotheses that were established as a basis for investigation.(3)
Mark scheme
Point marked. Clear aim; indication of one hypothesis; well-stated hypotheses for full marks.
Answer
(a) The aim of my investigation was to understand the quality of the environment around the village of West End.
There is a significant variation in the environmental quality around West End.
(b) Describe a method of presentation you used in your investigation and say how the method was useful. (7)
Mark scheme. Levels marked.
Level 1 – Method described without reference to its usefulness.
1-4
Level 2 – Clear indication of method of presentation or developed reference to show how technique was useful. Some
indication as to why method was chosen – expands on useful.
5-7
Answer one
My chosen method of presentation was spider graphs. I started off by drawing the axes for my graph because as I
had 16 EQ things I required 16 different spokes. I then labelled each one with whatever I was surveying eg noise,
litter, air quality. I then numbered the spikes beginning with 0 on the inside moving to 10 on the outside. I was then
able to plot my data on it. I could also using a key plot more than one location on it. This is one advantage because
you can easily compare the different locations. Being very visual it is easy to spot trends and especially for my
investigation where I wanted to see variation in locations. This method however is very time consuming and can get
confusing if too many locations are plotted on one graph.
Answer two
To collect our data we measured the cross section of the river at one mile intervals along the river from the source to
the mouth. We had a metre ruler with cm and mm on it and at each point (1 mile) we measured the depth of the
river at 20cm intervals. We wrote down our results in a table. We did this along the whole river. We got back to the
classroom and the measurements we took allowed us to draw a cross-section of the river. On squared paper we
drew the channel to scale joining the points up to get the river bed. We then had a visual representation of the river
at 1 mile intervals which allowed us to observe the changes in depth and width. It was also useful in that because the
drawings were to scale you could measure the efficiency of the river by doing the cross sectional area divided by the
wetted perimeter to help us find if our hypothesis was correct.
Aims/hypotheses/Analysis:
(a) Outline the aim(s) of your investigation and state two hypotheses that were established as a basis of the
investigation.
(3 marks)
Mark scheme
Point marked. Clear aim; indication of one hypothesis; well-stated hypotheses for full marks.
Answer
I hypothesised that in Sheffield the wealthier people would have the better quality of environment and that the
more deprived areas would be closer to the CBD. My aim was to discover if there was a segregation of wealth in
Sheffield.
(b) Describe a method of data analysis that was used and state the advantages of using that method. (7 )
Mark scheme
Level 1 – method described in general terms without reference or link to analysis of data.
1-4
Level 2 – clear indication as to method of data analysis and developed reference to suggest the advantages of the
method. 5-7
I used Spearman’s Rank because it gave me a figure upon which I could test my results. I completed this by ranking
all the wards in Sheffield (29 of them) based on house prices. Then I ranked them based on the index of deprivation.
The better they were the lower the score ie the best was 1, the worst was 29. I then found out the difference
between the rank of index of deprivation and house prices. I then squared the differences and added up the total of
all 29 differences squared. I then used the formula (correct one given) to discover the correlation. The answer was
0.89 which shows a strong positive relationship because the scale goes from -1 to +1 with -1 being a poor correlation
and 1 being a strong correlation.
Fieldwork plan
Stage
AIM
Points to consider
What was the aim of the study?
What were you trying to find out?
What was the underpinning
theory/idea/concept? (whose
ideas/theories)
HYPOTHESES
What hypotheses were tested?
Which variable can be correlated
against each other or in relation to
some other variable such as distance
downstream, or size/shape of stone
DATA
COLLECTION
What methods were used to collect
data for each of your hypotheses?
Why were they the best? Justify them.
What equipment was required to carry
out the investigation?
What were the risks associated, and
how did you respond to them?
DATA
PRESENTATION
What method(s) would be suitable to
test relationships between the variables
being tested?
Why is this method suitable?
Illustrate this technique.
Can you describe it to someone EXACTLY
DATA ANALYSIS
What method(s) could be applied to
analyse the data?
Is there any correlation between the
variables?
What are the advantages of using this
method?
Can you quote some actual speed
results.
What did you learn?
Were there any anomalous results?
What/how did it contribute to your
understanding?
How could it be useful to others?
RESULTS
IMPROVEMENTS
Answers/ comments
What could you do to improve it?
(Every section including sampling)
Draw an annotated sketch map of the location of your study area to show its basic characteristics.
(5 marks)
Diagram of the technique/s you used to present/analyse your data. (5)
Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative sources of data in your fieldwork enquiry. (3 marks)
How was ICT used in your fieldwork? (5 marks)