Aim, hypotheses & risk

Every enquiry starts with a plan. CCEA expects:

• One clear aim — the overall question, e.g. "To investigate how a river changes downstream."
• At least two hypotheses — testable statements, e.g. "River width increases downstream" and "River velocity increases downstream."
• A risk assessment — identify hazards (traffic, deep water, weather) and how you will reduce each one.

Primary vs secondary

Geographers use two kinds of data, and CCEA requires at least one secondary source:

• Primary data — data you collect yourself in the field, e.g. a traffic count, a questionnaire, river measurements.
• Secondary data — data collected by someone else, e.g. census figures, OS maps, weather records, textbooks.

Primary or secondary?

Accuracy, reliability & sampling

Good fieldwork produces data you can trust. Key ideas:

• Accuracy — how close a measurement is to the true value; use the right equipment (e.g. a tape measure, not a stride) and a clear recording sheet.
• Reliability — whether repeating the method gives similar results; repeat readings and take an average.
• Sampling — you can't measure everything, so you choose a sample: random, systematic (e.g. every 10 m) or stratified.

Which sampling method?

Choosing the right graph

You must present data using appropriate graphs and maps (hand-drawn and ICT) and justify your choice. Match the technique to the data:

• Flow line — movement along routes, e.g. traffic or pedestrian counts; line width shows the amount.
• Scatter graph — the relationship between two variables, e.g. river width vs depth.
• Choropleth map — area data shown by shading, e.g. population density by region.
• Bar chart — comparing separate categories; line graph — continuous change over time.

From raw data to a clear picture

Before you can present findings you must process your raw data so patterns become clear:

• Total and average repeated readings (mean) to smooth out one-off errors.
• Work out simple stats such as the range to show how spread out your results are.
• Decide which technique suits each data set, then draw it by hand and using ICT (spreadsheets, GIS).

Match the graph to the data

Tap a graph type on the left, then the data it best suits on the right.

Which graph for a relationship?

Your turn — find the mean

Your turn — find the range

Links, anomalies & theory

Analysis means describing and explaining what your data shows:

• Describe trends and links between data sets, using figures from your graphs.
• Identify anomalies — results that do not fit the trend — and suggest why they occurred.
• Use theory and case studies (e.g. the Bradshaw model for rivers) to explain your results.

Sort each item

Tap an item, then tap the group it belongs to.

Evidenced conclusions & evaluation

Finish the enquiry by tying everything back to your hypotheses:

• Conclusion — state whether each hypothesis was supported, and back it with evidence (specific figures from your results).
• Evaluation — judge how good your investigation was: problems with methods, limitations of the data, other data that would help, and how to improve or extend the scope next time.

What is evaluation?

The big ideas to know

You've covered all of CCEA Unit 3 — Fieldwork. Press Finish to see your score.