Environmental
 An environmental audit of school
 How valuable is Greenbelt around conurbation
 The industrial / agricultural activity at site X does not affect local water supply
 A study of the varying impacts of quarrying
 A study of a single farm to investigate; what extent the pattern of farming is influenced by physical, socio-cultural or economic factors; how and why farm practices have changed over time
 An examination of the extent to which variations exists within an urban area in terms of a) environmental quality and b) perceived quality of life
 Recreational land use and potential conflicts at a particular site
 The need for a golf course at site X
 Evaluating the effects of geology, relief and exposure in controlling the development of soil type
 An investigation of how pH, texture, colour and depth changes from the top to the bottom of a slope
 Weathering of local buildings, tombstones in a local graveyard
 Litter survey – types, location, causes, bin locations etc
 To investigate Glenveigh National Park as a Tourist attraction

 An investigation into the environmental impact of tourism on town X in relation to overcrowding, litter and excess traffic
Traffic
 An investigation into the effectiveness of traffic calming matters
 The impact of heavy goods vehicles on village X
 What factors influence the daily traffic flows at major junctions in town X
 The case for and against reopening the railway station at X
 A review of the nature, use and adequacy of car parking in town X
 A survey of the environmental & economic impact of a new road scheme in town/area X
 The need for a pedestrian crossing outside our school (Traffic
Count)
Rivers /Lakes
 To measure the cross-section of the river V and the depth of water it contains
 The velocity of a river increases downstream
 What factors influence flow velocities in river channel Y
 The sources of water for Lake X
 Water Quality / pH value / Uses of Lake X’s water
 The use (and misuse) of a local reservoir facility
 How does bed load vary in a stream from source to mouth

 Determining the processes at work from a rivers load (bed load, suspended load & solution load)
 There is a proportional increase in discharge with increasing distance from source
 There is a proportional decrease in sediment size with progression downstream (does the sediment fit the predicted theory that it becomes smoother and smaller downstream?)
 A river’s channel changes shape downstream
 A river’s valley changes shape downstream
 The velocity of a river varies across a meander section
 Human activities has affected the River X in many ways
 After storm events, there is an increase in suspended sediment proportional to the increase in discharge in river channel Y
 To measure the velocity & discharge of the river Y
 An examination of the changes in the sinuosity index (length of meandering river divided by the straight –line distance) along the Y river at ….
 Changes in the River ? along its valley
Coasts
 An investigation into the impacts of coastal protection schemes along coastline Z
 What factors make cliffs vulnerable to collapse and recession along coastline Z
 How effective coastal protection at Z have been – a comparative study

 Cliffs which are actively undercut are steeper than those which have basal protection
 Is LsD a measurable process moving beach material along stretch of coastline at Z
 Do we need coastal protection at Z?
 To investigate features along a beach transect at low tide – to record the location of beach material
 The shape of a beach changes over time
 Beach material is moved along the shore by the action of Longshore
Drift
 A study of changes over time along a coast
 Evidence of sea level change at Bundoran
 To determine whether the coastline at Bundoran is a high or low energy coastal area
 How does beach form and profile vary between two different parts of the coast
 How and why does sediment size vary across a beach?
 Is there a relationship between wave energy and beach form?
 An investigation of LsD along a beach
 Is tourism a necessary evil – a survey of the impact of tourism on a coastal resort
 A survey of beach facilities along a stretch of coast – try to establish whether or not there is a link between the number of visitors and facilities & beach quality
 A study of the dune system at Z

Glaciation
 What variations in size, shape, distribution, orientation can be seen in the drumlins in a particular area
 An investigation into the distribution and orientation of erosional (or depositional) features at J
 A survey of the distribution of glacial features at area J
 Analysis of sediments – size, shape and orientation
 An examination of the use of glacial features in a particular area
Population
 The impact of closure of services in rural areas
 Population and migration surveys of town T
 What factors influence school catchment areas
 What factors have influenced the development of Donegal Town?
 A history of the development of ? town through a study of its buildings ( to prove that the presence of the castle/river/abbey/ church/factory/mine/port/coast led to a towns development
 Higher order services are confined only to the larger size settlements in a rural area
 How town T has developed over time including the repercussions of population and service changes
 How reasonable are rural planning decisions and restrictions in place in area T
 Is there a real need for more affordable housing in town T?

 Does the population pyramid of my local area match that of the
Republic of Ireland?
Urban
 The age of buildings decreases from the town centre outwards towards the suburbs
 Building height reduces with distance from the CBD
 The age of housing gets older towards town centre
 Building age survey
 The density of housing increases and the garden size decreases towards town centre
 What factors have influenced the size / shape of the hinterland of
Sligo?
 To observe in detail the form and functions of the town T
 To investigate the reasons for the location of different types of shops
 To which urban model does town T adhere most?
 A survey of the distribution of particular types of shops in town T
 What factors have influenced house prices in a particular part of town?
 How user friendly is a shopping centre for use by disabled people?
 The impact of market days on a town centre or CBD
 Investigating to what extent and why shopping provision has changed over time
 Investigating residential land use

 A survey to determine the limits of the CBD in town T and to access the degree to which this conforms with to accepted theories such as the Core Frame Model
 To determine the changing nature of the CBD of town T over time
 A survey of an Ind. Est. to investigate the reasons why companies located there
 What is the nature and extent of urban pollution in selected parts of town T?
 There is a significant pattern in the density of chewing gum marks on the pavements of city/town T
 A study of land use changes in town T
 An investigation to account for the land use changes along a transect through town/city T
 The impact of tourism on the layout of facilities in a town
 Shopping centres in the middle of towns are larger and have a bigger variety of shops than suburban shopping centres
 To what extent is ? a dormitory town?
 An examination of the changes in type and number of services over time
Industry
 Modern factories and Ind. Ests. are built on or with easy access to the main transport routes
 A skilled labour force is the most important factor in locating an industry
 Many old established factories have outgrown their original sites

 A factory has to be located near its supply of raw materials
 As manufacturing industry develops, it needs different site characteristics so it is forced to change location
 To examine the factors which determined the location of factory X at site Y
 An examination of the factors which led to the development of the industrial estate at X
 A survey of an Ind. Est. to investigate the reasons why companies located there
 An examination factors to prove that x company is indeed a footloose industry
School Based Investigations
 School Catchment Survey
 Traffic Survey
 Pollution Survey
 Environmental school audit
 Postal Surveys – re. Industry etc
 Weather - school micro-climate – north facing slopes are colder than south facing – rainfall varies around the school due to vegetation / obstructions
 School water quality survey
 Air Pollution – Lichen Analysis
 School Transport Survey
 Facilities for Young People Survey