G3B Individual Research Enquiry Task
for 2016
Centres/individual candidates requiring additional support should complete the G3B
Candidates’ Individual Project Approval Form.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork with over 50% of all A Level
geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
For further information please visit:
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Geography GCE – G3B Topics and Titles for 2016
Spec.
No
THEME
G3.2.1
Geography of Crime
G3.2.2
Deprivation
G3.2.3
Geography of Disease
G3.2.4
Environmental Psychology
G3.2.5
Leisure and Recreation
G3.2.6
Microclimates
G3.2.7
Atmospheric and Water Pollution
G3.2.8
Geography of Retailing
G3.2.9
Rivers
G3.2.10
Small Scale Ecosystems
TOPIC
Changing retail
patterns
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Spec
No
G3 2.8
Theme
Geography of retailing:
Changing retail patterns
Potential aims/titles for an investigation
Do changing retail patterns reflect
changes in the working life of people?
What impacts have the growth of retail
‘giants’ had on central shopping areas?
How has the growth of out-of-town
shopping impacted on town X?
To what extent has Internet shopping
impacted on retail areas?
1.
Planning Stages of the Investigation

Develop your knowledge of the topic by consulting geographical literature or searching the internet.
This topic is covered in G2 Changing Human Environments Key Question 2.4
‘What are the issues being faced in the CDB?’

Decide on issue to be investigated and develop your knowledge of the places being studied.
Candidates may decide on an overarching enquiry question, such as:
To what extent has the growth of Parc Trostre impacted on Llanelli?
Alternatively, candidates may present their enquiry as a hypothesis, such as:
There is no significant difference in the types of shops/services that have opened or closed in the last X years in X
town.

Decide on the location for the investigation and develop your knowledge of the place(s) being studied.
Decide on a number of potential locations for fieldwork using O.S maps, local knowledge, local newspaper reports,
as well as the census and secondary data from the internet.
The size of the areas chosen will need to reflect the available time allocated and quantity of data needed to provide
a meaningful conclusion. Sampling within selected areas will be needed and this might require a vehicle or extensive
use of bus routes.

Visit your chosen location for a pilot survey.
This is necessary to familiarise candidates with the environment they will be studying and to confirm its suitability.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd

Undertake a risk assessment.
Candidates need to identify potential risks and how they can be minimised. Teacher and/or parental approval is
essential.

Obtain any equipment (if required) checking availability and how to operate it.
Candidates need to check the availability of suitable equipment and be shown how to operate it, checking that it is in
working order and complete with batteries/chargers. This will ensure that they maximise both the quality and
quantity of data they will be collecting.

Prepare recording sheets and design questionnaire surveys.
Candidates should be encouraged to design their own recording sheets and/or questionnaires in the classroom
before undertaking fieldwork. Pilot recording sheets and/or questionnaires should be tested either with teacher
and/or peer support.

Decide on sampling strategy (ies).
This stage involves a revision of sampling strategies studied during the AS course. Selected sampling strategies need
to be justified and decisions for the non-use of others need to be given.

Check weather conditions if relevant.
Weather conditions are more critical to the success of some fieldwork methods than others.

Decide on day, date and time of survey.
In this study it would also be important to record the time of day and season as this may affect the participants of
questionnaires or photographic analysis.

2.
Arrange appointments if your investigation involves interviews/visits.
Data Collection

Identify a clear question, hypothesis or issue. Developing sub questions may help to bring greater clarity to
complex investigations.
Candidates may decide on an overarching enquiry question, such as:
To what extent has the growth of Parc Trostre impacted on Llanelli?
With sub-questions such as:
How has Parc Trostre changed the retail types and patterns within the Llanelli area?
Has the growth of Parc Trostre enabled retail expenditure to remain in the Llanelli area?
Alternatively, candidates may present their enquiry as a hypothesis, such as:
There is no significant difference in the types of shops/services that have opened or closed in the last X years in X
town.
With sub-questions such as:
Which product lines have been more affected by internet shopping?
How and to what extent does internet shopping impact on individuals’ physical shopping activities?
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd

Justify the reasons for selecting the location and the data set(s) you plan to collect.
Justification can be based on accessibility, safety concerns and considerations of scale, as well as the time available
to complete the data collection.

Briefly outline the geographical context of your investigation.
Ensure that candidates provide a ‘sense of place’ about the area under investigation. From an assessment
perspective it is useful for the examiner to obtain an understanding of the location, scale of the study and the timescales involved.

Describe your field area with words and an annotated base map; you could also give some background
information about the area.
A sketch-map may be useful, together with a brief summary of the location studied and its characteristics.

Describe how you collected the data for your study. Include recording sheets / sample questionnaires.
The description should include a stage by stage account of precisely how the data was collected. The hallmark of a
good description is that it can be replicated. Recording sheets and/or questionnaires should be included.

Explain the sampling technique(s) used and justify your choice(s).
The AS specification requires candidates to understand the importance of sampling and avoiding bias when
collecting data. Selected sampling strategies need to be justified as well as decisions for the non-use of others.

Briefly discuss any difficulties / factors affecting your enquiry (e.g. bad weather) and possible bias when
collecting information.
Difficulties may include the need to adapt /alter the methodology because of unforeseen circumstances. Candidates
should think critically about the accuracy and rigour of the data collection methods used.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Data Collection Examples
Primary Data Examples (note many of these techniques
can be adapted and used for each question)
Do changing
retail
patterns
reflect
changing in
the working
life of
people?
Land Use Survey. Undertake a land use survey based on
GOAD maps which provide retail information going back
to the 1960’s. Information is given on the location, floor
space and names of the retail premises which can be
updated.
Wi-Fi Survey: Many people are working remotely, with
people working in coffee shops etc. Students could
investigate the numbers of retail premises that have
changed to Wi-Fi-enabled coffee shops in recent years. A
current land use survey, compared with an old GOAD map
would provide these details.
Retail Index Survey: Complete a full survey or transects
over a larger city, noting down the types of retailers
within each survey area. E.g. department stores,
independent.
Questionnaires: These could ask targeted questions about
peoples working practices and their shopping preferences.
This could cover aspects such as the frequency people
shop for certain goods during working hours and where
these places are located.
Product Survey: Students could look at different products,
find out where they are being sold and what is being
marketed by the product. Questions they might ask are:
What is being sold? Where?
Description of the item?
Description of the location, branding, marketing
surrounding the item? What images are being portrayed
around the item? What is the key message being
delivered or sold? What image / brand is being marketed
by this product? An annotated photo would be useful to
compliment the questions.
This information would be useful in helping to answer
questions about whether retail areas were ‘selling’ the
image of being connected 24/7 for work, meeting people
etc.
Secondary Data Examples(note many of these techniques
can be adapted and used for each question)
GOAD and Land Use Survey. GOAD maps provide retail
information going back to the 1960’s. Information is given on
the location, floor space and names of the retail premises.
Employment Structures: Students could look at employment
levels for various industries within an area. For example if
traditional town based sectors such as banking, finance and
professional services are lower than national averages and
employment in transport, distribution and communication are
higher, this might suggest some change in the working life of
people as the retail pattern has changed.
http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/
Neighbourhood Statistics provide access to either
neighbourhood summaries or detailed data sets.
Retail Dynamics in Wales: Government report and research
such as the recent one below, often include detailed
information on specific towns – these could be used as
secondary data directly or as a comparison. Report below
gives detailed case studies of Llanelli, Newport, Ruthin,
Llangefni and Aberystwyth.
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/planningresearch/publis
hedresearch/town-centres-and-retail-dynamics/?lang=en
Demographic Data: www.ons.gov.uk This is the official
website of the Office for National Statistics. For example
information on the Labour Market can be found, such as the
demographic for employment. As the Baby Boomers are
beginning to retire this might be affecting the retailing
patterns, such as more health, DIY, home maintenance shops,
as opposed to music, clothing etc. This information could be
combined with GOAD maps and land-use surveys.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
What
impacts
have the
growth of
retail
‘giants’ had
on central
shopping
areas?
Primary Data Examples (note many of these
techniques can be adapted and used for
each question)
Void Rate Assessment: By counting the total
number of shops within an area, and the
number of vacant shops, a void percentage
can be calculated. This could be compared
with past years. Use a GOAD map and count
the number of shops and vacant premises in
the same way as the current count to get a
void rate from past years.
Questionnaires: Could collect data about
different aspects of positive and negative
impacts, perhaps relating to product
selection or store sizes.
Equity Audit: By creating a list of shopper
roles and the potential buying
characteristics of each role, students could
investigate the equity of retailing on offer.
Students would go around their survey area
looking for the products identified with each
shopper character. They could conduct a bipolar assessment of the ease of availability
of the products identified.
Secondary Data (note many of these techniques can be adapted and used
for each question)
UK National Retail Data: Information from Colliers International GB Retail
Report, analyses prime retail locations across Great Britain, looking at rental
levels and void rates.
http://www.colliers.com/en-gb/uk/insights/property-news/2014/1028slide-in-regional-shop-rents-slows-down#.VHWtFsneg4g
Local Data Company: This allows free access to short summaries of reports
e.g. 2014 Vacant Levels Report, of over 3000 town centres.
http://info.localdatacompany.com/vacancy-report-tell-me-more
Business Case Studies: This site produces detailed case studies on how the
retail industry has realigned its business in response to external factors.
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/case-studies/byindustry/retail.html#axzz3KB3DXSVI
Town Centre Shopper Reports: This can be bought from Experian. It is a
report that describes the type of consumer who shops in a town. It gives
information on catchment profiles, demographics, consumer expenditure
and retail rankings. http://www.experian.co.uk/goad/goad-reports.html
Retail Giant Proximity: For each shopping area assess the proximity of
retail giant outlets. This could be done using GoogleMaps.
Example GOAD map from http://www.experian.co.uk/goad/goad.html
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Primary Data Examples (note many of these techniques can be adapted
and used for each question)
How has the
growth of
out-of-town
shopping
impacted on
town X?
Accessibility survey: How easy is it to access the town centre and out-oftown retail areas?
Calculate a bus index (including number of routes and number of services
per day/week), find out the number of parking spaces, the cost of
parking, and carry out a qualitative assessment of ease of driving to the
location (e.g. congestion) and disability access.
Catchment areas: Do town centre and out-of-town retail areas attract
different people?
Devise a questionnaire for shoppers. Where have they travelled from? (to
establish how far they have travelled and where they have come from). If
you are carrying out a questionnaire there are other questions you could
ask, such as what they are buying on this visit.
Shop type survey: Is there an overlap in the types of shops in the town
centre and out-of-town retail areas? Is there likely to be competition?
Map the types of shops in each area by colour coding categories and
marking them on to base maps. Categories could include electronics,
music, groceries, clothes and supermarkets etc. Also note the names of
the shops and whether they are selling high or low order goods.
Secondary Data (note many of these
techniques can be adapted and used for each
question)
Accessibility survey: Online bus timetables,
Google Maps ‘Earth View’ for parking spaces,
information from the local council and
shopping centres about disability access.
Rent values for commercial property:
Compare in the town centre and out-of-town.
e.g. www.rightmove.co.uk
www.completelyretail.co.uk
Rightmove: Search commercial property
Completely Retail: You need to register and be
over 18. Free access to information.
Work out cost per square metre for a number
of premises in each area. Find the mean rent
cost in each area.
Semi-structured interviews with shop managers/staff: Focus on shops
(type or company) that exist in the town centre and the out-of-town
retail areas.
Example questions - Why are they located in both areas? Do they feel
there is competition? Or do they attract different customers? It may be
possible to video the interviews, if set up in advance. This would give a
more complete impression of their feelings.
Footfall survey: Focus on shops (type or company) that exist in the town
centre and the out-of-town retail areas.
Which retail area gets more customers?
Count the number of customers going into the shops.
Environmental Quality Assessment (EQA): Is there a difference in the
perception of the environment in the town centre and out-of-town retail
areas? Would this affect where people shop?
Divide the EQA into categories such as ‘natural features’, ‘noise
pollution’, ‘safety’, ‘atmosphere and character’ and carry out a bi-polar
survey in each area. Take a photo to illustrate your opinion for each
category.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Primary Data Examples (note many of these techniques can be adapted
and used for each question)
To what
extent has
internet
shopping
impacted on
retail areas?
Shop survey and comparison: How have the shops/services in a chosen
retail area(s) changed over time as internet shopping has increased in
popularity?
Use a GOAD map from, for example, 20 years ago and a current one (or
blank base map). Categorise shops and services, for example, clothes,
electronics, music, books, restaurants, bars, banks, estate agents etc.
Construct a table showing types of shops/services and opened/closed
over the time period. Assess the current shops against the historical data
and note down the number of shops that have closed or opened in each
category.
Questionnaires: Where do shoppers normally buy certain types of
products? (Give categories). Options would be shops, internet with
delivery or ‘Click and Collect’. Ask them why they do this.
Price comparison: Choose a range of items and note the price on a range
of internet retail sites (with delivery and ‘Click and Collect’ options), and
in a number of shops.
Observation of people: Does observation of people and their behaviour
tell us about what they are doing in the retail area(s)?
Discreetly observe people (perhaps systematically, for example every 10th
person). Answer questions such as - Are they in a hurry? How old are they
(devise categories), do they look like they are shopping or working? Are
they on their own or in a group/family? It would be useful to do this at
different times of the day and on different days of the week.
Secondary Data (note many of these
techniques can be adapted and used for each
question)
An internet search will provide accounts for
retail companies over the previous accounting
year. Use this information to see if you can
find how internet sales compare with shop
sales, how many products are sold in store
compared to online and general information
about the company and how it operates.
Internet shopping availability: How many of
the shops in the retail area have an internet
shopping option? Is this likely to impact on the
shops’ revenue, either positively or negatively?
Consider the implications of options such as
‘Click and Collect’.
Use a current GOAD map (giving shop names)
and internet searches to investigate whether
the shops in the retail area have the option of
buying online. If the specific shop doesn’t,
investigate whether you can buy the same
goods from a different online store.
www.experian.co.uk for GOAD maps.
Placecheck: What are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping on
the internet and in retail areas?
Note down, for example, 3 things you like about internet shopping and 3
things you don’t like. Do the same for shopping in a retail area. Ask other
people to do this so you get a wide demographic sample (different ages,
genders, interests etc.).
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Example Town Centre Shopper Report from http://www.experian.co.uk/goad/goad-reports.html
3.
Data Refinement and Display

Refine the data into tables.
Tables can be helpful in providing an effective summary of the data collected, compiled from individual recording
sheets/questionnaires.

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.
It is expected that candidates will select more advanced techniques than those used at GCSE and AS. Candidates
should be encouraged to be more innovative at this level through, for example, combining graphical and
cartographical techniques together. Providing candidates with a list of suitable options may assist with the
development and use of more advanced techniques. Candidates need to explain why the chosen technique has been
used.

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?
Example of Data Refinement and Display
Do changing
retail patterns
reflect changes
in the working
life of people?
Data Refinement and Display
GOAD and Land Use Survey: This is likely to be represented as a map with a key to describe the various
categories of the elements surveyed.
Wi-Fi Survey: This may be represented on a dot map, to illustrate the distribution of retailing outlets
offering free or pay-as-you-go Wi-Fi.
Retail Index Survey: This could be presented as a choropleth map, either in survey areas or individual
retail spaces, with the data classified into retail type.
Questionnaires: These are likely to be represented by a selection of graphs, usually pie charts and bar
graphs.
Product Survey: This could be presented by a range of methods depending on the data collected.
Photographs located on a base map, with annotations could be used. If there is enough data to graph, a
histogram might be appropriate.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
What impacts
have the growth
of retail ‘giants’
had on central
shopping areas?
Data Refinement and display
Void Rate Assessment: This could be presented on a base map, or perhaps in a table or in the form of a
bar graph if using comparative areas.
Questionnaires: These are likely to be represented by a selection of graphs, usually pie charts and bar
graphs.
Retail Giant Proximity: This can be represented as a desire lines, representing the distances from shopping
areas to retail giant outlets.
Equity Audit: Depending on the depth of data collected, this could be represented by located radar
diagrams for the bi-polar scores. It could also be represented by bar graphs, if there were a number of
products collected for each shopper character.
Collated Bi-Polar Score
Student
Coffee
Phones
Refill Pad
Parent
Calpol
Toys for under 5's
Retired Person
Nappies
Meat from Butcher
Asprin
Magazine
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
7
8
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Data Refinement and display
How has the
growth of outof-town
shopping
impacted on
town X?
Catchment areas: Display the data for number of people coming from different areas as flow lines.
Footfall survey: The data could be displayed as a mirror graph, with ‘town centre’ and ‘out-of-town’ as the two sides,
and the shops/types of shops as each category.
Environmental Quality Assessment: The data could be displayed as Radar diagrams (one for each area), showing each
category and its value.
Natural
features
10
8
6
4
2
0
Atmosphere
and character
Noise pollution
Safety
To what extent
has Internet
shopping
impacted on
retail areas?
Shop survey and comparison: Example table
Type of
shop/service
Opened
Closed
Electronics
I
II
Books
I
IIII
Groceries
I
II
Banks
II
II
Restaurants
IIII
I
Bars
III
I
Questionnaires: Pie charts could display the data showing where people buy certain types of products. (3 pie charts –
for Shops, Internet with delivery and ‘Click and Collect’).
Shops
Books
Clothes
Electronics
Groceries
Music
Price comparison: The data could be displayed as a comparative bar graph.
Placecheck: Wordle would display the relative importance of the ideas given. People’s answers could be put into
categories so as to get repetition of the same words, leading to a more meaningful Wordle. http://www.wordle.net
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Footfall Survey Example from ESRI and FSC
Example from Wordle using responses to Place check survey
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
4.
Description, Analysis and Interpretation

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.
Although Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient (including statistical significance) is the only statistical technique
listed in the AS Specification, candidates should be encouraged, where appropriate and possible, to use other
statistical techniques such as Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney U test.

Discuss your findings using your geographical understanding of the topic, answering each sub-question
in turn.
Findings can be defined as the evidence collected throughout the investigation and relate to the tabulation,
presentation and analysis of the data collected. Findings can be distinguished from conclusions, which should be
specifically related to the research question/sub-questions or hypothesis (es) and should provide an answer to them.
Do changing
retail patterns
reflect changes
in the working
life of people?
Description, Analysis and Interpretation
Spearman’s Rank:
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant correlation between hours worked and retail index quality in town
X.
For each sub-area of a town (perhaps Middle or Lower Output Areas) students could work out the Retail
Index. The changing working life of people suggests that more the greater percentage of the workforce is
working part-time. An area with a larger percentage of the workforce working part-time may have a
different retail structure to an area with lots of unemployed or over 49 hour workers.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant correlation between void rates and retail giant proximity.
A scatter graph could be drawn between Distance of Shopping Area away from a Retail Giant (km) and
Void Rate of Shopping Area (percentage).
Void Rate of Shopping Area (precentage)
What impacts
have the growth
of retail ‘giants’
had on central
shopping areas?
Description, Analysis and Interpretation
Spearman’s Rank:
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Distance of Shopping Area away from a Retail Giant (km)
How has the
growth of out-oftown shopping
impacted on town
X?
Environmental Quality Assessment: This data could be analysed with a Mann Whitney U test. It would
need multiple repeats of the total EQA score for each retail area (town centre and out-of-town). This could
be achieved by asking other people to carry out the assessment (if not directly, from photos).
Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in the EQA scores for the town centre and out-of-town
retail areas.
Example data:
Town centre
Out-of-town
To what extent
has internet
shopping
impacted on retail
areas?
35
30
29
35
25
24
Total EQA scores
32
20
40
36
36
39
Shop survey and comparison: This data could be analysed using a Chi-squared test.
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference in the types of shops/services that have opened or
closed in the last ___ years.
If the results show a significant difference, it may indicate that certain types of shops/services have closed
due to the increase in internet shopping, and that other types have opened in their place. The results will
need interpreting though as the Chi-Squared test will not show specifically where the difference is (just
that there is a difference). There may be a significant difference but in fact it could be the opposite of what
was expected.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
5.
Conclusion and Evaluation

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.
Candidates need to ensure they provide developed conclusions that are supported with detailed evidence.
Generalised conclusions are unlikely to achieve beyond Level 2.

Evaluate the methods of data collection and sampling techniques used.
Evaluative comment should include both advantages and disadvantages and be specific to the 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.
Candidates should reflect critically on every stage of their investigation in order to appreciate its strengths and
weaknesses. They should also comment on the level of accuracy and degree of reliability of data as these will have a
significant impact on their findings and the conclusions drawn.

Suggest further research that could be carried out and/or questions to be answered.
Further research may involve extending the spatial and/or temporal scale of the study, conducting similar research
in a different location(s) or creating further sub-questions that could be investigated.
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom
GB3 Individual Research Enquiry Task 2016
Geography of retailing: Changing retail patterns © WJEC CBAC Ltd
Written in partnership with Field Studies Council (FSC).
FSC is an environmental education charity established in 1943. It is the leading provider of fieldwork
with over 50% of all A Level geography students visiting its network of centres each year.
http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom