Topics and Titles for 2015
Spec .No
THEME
G3.2.1
Geography of Crime
The distribution of crime
G3.2.2
Deprivation
Deprivation in rural areas
G3.2.3
Geography of Disease
Spatial variations in disease
G3.2.4
Environmental Psychology
G3.2.5
Leisure & Recreation
Human well-being in relation to the
environment
Use of green spaces
G3.2.6
Microclimates
Valley microclimates
G3.2.7
Atmospheric & Water Pollution
G3.2.8
Geography of Retailing
Causes and consequences of a pollution
incident
Clone towns
G3.2.9
Rivers
Downstream changes in river variables
G3.2.10
Small Scale Ecosystems
Woodland ecosystems
Spec.
No.
G3.2.1
THEME
Geography of Crime:
The distribution of
crime
Potential aims/suggested titles for investigation
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Is the incidence of crime different between rural and
urban areas?
To what extent does crime vary between the inner
and outer suburbs of a city?
Does the wealth of an area affect the type of crime
found there?
To what extent does crime vary between different
areas?
Is deprivation always confined to central areas?
Is the building period of a housing area a good
indicator of deprivation?
Do deprivation levels decrease from inner city areas
to the suburbs?
Is deprivation in a part of a village, town or city always
perceived to be worse than it actually is?
Is there a link between the increasing prevalence of
TB and the location of migrant populations?
Is disease an urban or rural phenomenon?
Are STDs more prevalent in studentified districts of
urban areas?
What impact does disease have upon employment
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G3.2.2
Deprivation: Patterns of
deprivation
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G3.2.3
Geography of Disease:
Spatial variations in
disease
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opportunities?
How does the management of disease X influence its
distribution?
Is people’s fear of a hazardous event actually related
to the risk?
Does access to open spaces affect the quality of life?
Does proximity to communication hubs affect wellbeing?
Do the physical characteristics of residential areas
affect the well-being of the people who live there?
Does human well-being increase as building density
decreases?
How important are green spaces in urban areas?
What type of green space is most appropriate for an
urban area?
To what extent do green spaces offer a diversity of
recreational opportunities?
How does recreational use vary between green
spaces in urban and rural areas?
How might the use of green spaces be planned for in
the future?
Within one valley how and why does microclimate
change?
Are changes in valley microclimates reflected in
changes in vegetation?
How does microclimate vary between two different
valleys?
How does the microclimate in valley X vary over time?
What are the short- and long-term consequences of a
pollution incident?
To what extent is the impact of a pollution incident
dependent upon prevailing conditions?
What was the impact of pollution incident X upon the
local environment?
Is a crude oil spillage always a disaster?
To what extent do clone towns remove diversity from
the high street?
Will clone towns lead to the death of the high street?
Is town X a clone town?
To what extent can the spread of clone towns be
regarded as beneficial?
Do shopping patterns vary between a clone town and
a non-clone town?
How does land use influence change along the
course of river X?
How do variables change downstream along river X?
To what extent do landforms reflect downstream
changes in regime?
What is the impact of human activity upon river
variables?
To what extent does geology impact on changes
along the course of a river?
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G3.2.4
Environmental
Psychology: Human
well-being in relation to
the environment
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G3.2.5
Leisure and
Recreation: Use of
green spaces
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G3.2.6
Microclimates: Valley
microclimates
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G3.2.7
Atmospheric and Water
Pollution: Causes &
consequences of a
pollution incident
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G3.2.8
Geography of retailing:
Clone towns
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G3.2.9
Rivers: Downstream
changes in river
variables
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G3.2.10 Small Scale
Ecosystems: Woodland
ecosystems
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To what extent does use of woodlands affect the
development of vegetation?
To what extent does increased human activity impact
upon vegetation?
What impact does management have upon the
woodland ecosystem?
How can human threats to a woodland ecosystem be
managed?
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ENQUIRY APPROACH WHICH CAN BE APPLIED TO G1, G2 AND G3B
The following provides a framework for students to follow as they undertake
investigations in preparation for Question 3 on both papers G1, G2 and paper G3B.
They will benefit from being involved as much as possible in planning and decision
making at each stage, in order to increase their understanding and recall of the
enquiry process. One approach that might be adopted is to provide candidates with a
template based on the stages in this framework on which they can keep a record of
the discussions that took place and the decisions that were made.
1.
Planning Stages of the Investigation
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2.
Develop your knowledge of the topic by consulting geographical literature
or searching the Internet.
Decide on issue to be investigated and develop your knowledge of the
places being studied.
Decide on the location for the investigation and develop your knowledge
of the place(s) being studied.
Visit your chosen location for a pilot survey.
Undertake a risk assessment.
Obtain any equipment (if required) checking availability and how to
operate it.
Prepare recording sheets/ design questionnaire surveys.
Decide on sampling strategy/ies.
Check weather conditions if relevant.
Decide on day, date and time of survey.
Arrange appointments if your investigation involves interviews/visits.
Data Collection
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Identify a clear question, hypothesis or issue. Developing sub questions
may help to bring greater clarity to complex investigations.
Justify the reasons for selecting the location and the data set(s) you plan
to collect.
Briefly outline the geographical context of your investigation.
Describe your field area with words and an annotated base map; you
could also give some background information about the area.
Describe how you collected the data for your study. Include recording
sheets and/or sample questionnaires.
Explain the sampling technique(s) used and justify your choice(s).
Briefly discuss any difficulties/ factors affecting your enquiry (e.g. bad
weather) and possible bias when collecting information.
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3.
Data Refinement and Display
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4.
Description, Analysis and Interpretation
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5.
Refine the data into tables.
Use a range of appropriate graphical techniques (given on pages 15 and
16 of the specification) to present the data accurately and clearly. Justify
your choices.
Include field sketches and annotated photographs.
Include any cartographical (mapping) techniques (given on pages 15 and
16 of the specification). Justify your choices.
Evaluate your methods of presentation – how effective are they in
showing the data you collected. Would alternative methods have been
better?
Describe and analyse each set of data. Summarise the data using
measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode) and dispersion
(standard deviation). Use other refining activities that may be relevant
such as scaling, ranking and weighting.
Look for relationships between the data shown on the graphs and where
appropriate use correlation
Discuss your findings using your geographical understanding of the topic,
answering each sub-question in turn.
Conclusion and Evaluation
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Summarise the conclusions you have been able to reach about each of
your sub-questions. Your conclusions must be effective and acceptable,
linking directly back to the questions.
Evaluate the methods of data collection and sampling techniques used.
Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the study as a whole and
the importance of obtaining accurate and reliable data.
Suggest further research that could be carried out and/or questions to be
answered.
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