Planning Urban Fieldwork: Enquiry Questions and Secondary Data

Developing Enquiry Questions

Ever wondered how geographers decide what to investigate when they visit a busy city centre? The process begins by formulating a clear framework for the investigation. For Edexcel Specification A, your urban fieldwork must focus specifically on investigating change in central or inner urban areas.

An enquiry question provides the broad geographical framework for your study (e.g., "How does land use change from the CBD to the inner city?").
This broad question must be narrowed down into a hypothesis, which is a specific, testable prediction that can be proven or disproven by data.
To remove researcher bias during data collection, geographers often use a null hypothesis, which is a statement suggesting no relationship or the exact opposite of what you expect to find.

Applying the SMART Criteria

When you are asked to suggest an enquiry question for an unfamiliar urban context, it must meet the SMART criteria. This means the question must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (to the specification), and Time-bound.

Vague Question: "Is the city centre better now?" (Fails — "better" is not measurable).
Refined Question: "To what extent has the environmental quality of the Olympic Park area improved compared to the 2012 baseline data?" (Passes — it uses specific locations, a clear time frame, and is measurable).

When justifying your question in an exam, explain how it is achievable (e.g., the site is safe and accessible by public transport) and measurable (e.g., it allows for numerical data collection like traffic counts).

Utilizing Secondary Data Sources

Before you even step foot outside for fieldwork, the most important part of your investigation happens at a computer. Secondary data is data collected by someone else previously, and Edexcel requires you to use at least two different secondary sources, with one being Census data.

Census data, published every 10 years by the ONS, provides essential baseline information on population density, employment, and housing tenure.
This baseline information allows you to identify temporal change by comparing past demographics with your current primary data.
Secondary data is also crucial for justifying site selection. Using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) allows you to identify contrasting areas (e.g., the top 10% least deprived vs. the bottom 10% most deprived).
This enables stratified sampling, where you deliberately choose sites to ensure your fieldwork represents the actual socio-economic diversity of the borough.

Always evaluate the reliability of your secondary sources. Census data can be out of date (e.g., using 2011 data in a rapidly changing area), and other sources like council marketing materials may be biased.

Investigating Temporal and Land Use Change

To measure change over time in an urban area, you must combine historical maps and datasets with modern primary data collection.

Goad maps are detailed historical street maps showing specific shop types, perfect for establishing a baseline for retail function.
Layering current data over these historical maps using digital tools like Google Earth helps identify processes like gentrification or de-industrialisation.
You must collect quantitative data (numerical measurements like pedestrian counts) to calculate precise changes in land use function.
You must also collect qualitative data (non-numerical observations), such as creating an annotated field sketch to explain how physical features like a river influenced the original placement of industries.

Worked Example: Calculating Temporal Change

Using historical Goad maps, a student found that a high street had 14 independent shops in 2012. During their fieldwork today, they recorded only 9 independent shops. Calculate the percentage change in independent shops.

Step 1: Write down the formula for percentage change.

\text{Percentage Change} = \frac{\text{New Value} - \text{Old Value}}{\text{Old Value}} \times 100

Step 2: Identify the values and substitute them into the formula.

$\text{New Value} = 9$
$\text{Old Value} = 14$
$\frac{9 - 14}{14} \times 100$

Step 3: Calculate the difference, divide by the old value, and multiply by 100.

$\frac{-5}{14} = -0.357$
$-0.357 \times 100 = -35.7\%$

The Environmental Quality Survey (EQS)

How do we put numbers on something as subjective as "how nice" a street looks? An Environmental Quality Survey (EQS) is a semi-quantitative tool that scores features like litter, pavements, and green space on a Likert scale (e.g., -2 to +2).

\text{Total Site Score} = \sum (\text{individual feature scores})

If a site scores -2 for Litter, -1 for Noise, and +2 for Green Space, the total EQS score is -1. By calculating the mean EQS score across several sites along a transect, geographers can statistically map how environmental quality changes with distance from the city centre.

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Exam Tips

Common Mistake
Students often confuse labels with annotations on an annotated field sketch. A label is just a single word identifier (e.g., "Litter"), whereas an annotation is an explanatory note describing the geographical processes happening (e.g., "Wind-blown litter accumulated against a fence due to a lack of bins").
2
In 8-mark fieldwork questions, examiners expect you to explicitly justify your site selection. Do not just state "I used Census data"; explain HOW the Census data helped you select contrasting or representative locations.
3
When asked to suggest a hypothesis for an unfamiliar urban context, always frame it as a directional prediction (e.g., stating scores will "decrease" or "increase") as this demonstrates it can be clearly tested and measured.

Key Terms(15)

Enquiry question: A broad geographical question that provides the framework and main focus for a fieldwork investigation.
Hypothesis: A specific, testable prediction that can be proven or disproven by collecting and analyzing data.
Null hypothesis: A statement suggesting no relationship exists or the exact opposite of what you expect to find, used to remove researcher bias.
SMART criteria: A framework ensuring research questions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Secondary data: Information that has been previously collected by someone else, such as Census records, IMD rankings, or historical maps.
Census: An official, comprehensive count or survey of a population, published every 10 years in the UK, providing baseline demographic data.
Baseline information: Initial, foundational data used to understand the geographical context of an area before new primary data is collected.
Temporal change: Differences observed in a geographical feature, variable, or location over a specific period of time.
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): A secondary dataset ranking areas in England by their level of deprivation, often used to justify fieldwork site selection.
Stratified sampling: A sampling method where an area or population is divided into sub-groups based on secondary data, and sites are deliberately chosen to ensure fair representation.
Goad maps: Detailed historical street maps showing specific retail units and shop types, used to measure changes in urban land use over time.
Quantitative data: Numerical information that can be counted, measured, and analyzed statistically.
Qualitative data: Non-numerical information that captures descriptive qualities, characteristics, or opinions.
Annotated field sketch: A geographical drawing of a landscape or environment that includes detailed explanatory notes describing the processes occurring.
Environmental Quality Survey (EQS): A data collection tool where various environmental features (like litter and noise) are subjectively scored on a numerical scale.

Previous Subtopic: Fieldwork: Coastal LandscapesCoastal Processes: Human Impacts and Implications Next NoteUrban Fieldwork: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

Back to Fieldwork: Urban Environments

Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for Geography A

Key Terms(15)

Enquiry question: A broad geographical question that provides the framework and main focus for a fieldwork investigation.
Hypothesis: A specific, testable prediction that can be proven or disproven by collecting and analyzing data.
Null hypothesis: A statement suggesting no relationship exists or the exact opposite of what you expect to find, used to remove researcher bias.
SMART criteria: A framework ensuring research questions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Secondary data: Information that has been previously collected by someone else, such as Census records, IMD rankings, or historical maps.
Census: An official, comprehensive count or survey of a population, published every 10 years in the UK, providing baseline demographic data.
Baseline information: Initial, foundational data used to understand the geographical context of an area before new primary data is collected.
Temporal change: Differences observed in a geographical feature, variable, or location over a specific period of time.
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): A secondary dataset ranking areas in England by their level of deprivation, often used to justify fieldwork site selection.
Stratified sampling: A sampling method where an area or population is divided into sub-groups based on secondary data, and sites are deliberately chosen to ensure fair representation.
Goad maps: Detailed historical street maps showing specific retail units and shop types, used to measure changes in urban land use over time.
Quantitative data: Numerical information that can be counted, measured, and analyzed statistically.
Qualitative data: Non-numerical information that captures descriptive qualities, characteristics, or opinions.
Annotated field sketch: A geographical drawing of a landscape or environment that includes detailed explanatory notes describing the processes occurring.
Environmental Quality Survey (EQS): A data collection tool where various environmental features (like litter and noise) are subjectively scored on a numerical scale.

Planning Urban Fieldwork: Enquiry Questions and Secondary Data

Developing Enquiry Questions

An enquiry question provides the broad geographical framework for your study (e.g., "How does land use change from the CBD to the inner city?").
This broad question must be narrowed down into a hypothesis, which is a specific, testable prediction that can be proven or disproven by data.
To remove researcher bias during data collection, geographers often use a null hypothesis, which is a statement suggesting no relationship or the exact opposite of what you expect to find.

Applying the SMART Criteria

Vague Question: "Is the city centre better now?" (Fails — "better" is not measurable).
Refined Question: "To what extent has the environmental quality of the Olympic Park area improved compared to the 2012 baseline data?" (Passes — it uses specific locations, a clear time frame, and is measurable).

Utilizing Secondary Data Sources

Census data, published every 10 years by the ONS, provides essential baseline information on population density, employment, and housing tenure.
This baseline information allows you to identify temporal change by comparing past demographics with your current primary data.
Secondary data is also crucial for justifying site selection. Using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) allows you to identify contrasting areas (e.g., the top 10% least deprived vs. the bottom 10% most deprived).
This enables stratified sampling, where you deliberately choose sites to ensure your fieldwork represents the actual socio-economic diversity of the borough.

Investigating Temporal and Land Use Change

To measure change over time in an urban area, you must combine historical maps and datasets with modern primary data collection.

Goad maps are detailed historical street maps showing specific shop types, perfect for establishing a baseline for retail function.
Layering current data over these historical maps using digital tools like Google Earth helps identify processes like gentrification or de-industrialisation.
You must collect quantitative data (numerical measurements like pedestrian counts) to calculate precise changes in land use function.
You must also collect qualitative data (non-numerical observations), such as creating an annotated field sketch to explain how physical features like a river influenced the original placement of industries.

Worked Example: Calculating Temporal Change

Step 1: Write down the formula for percentage change.

\text{Percentage Change} = \frac{\text{New Value} - \text{Old Value}}{\text{Old Value}} \times 100

Step 2: Identify the values and substitute them into the formula.

$\text{New Value} = 9$
$\text{Old Value} = 14$
$\frac{9 - 14}{14} \times 100$

Step 3: Calculate the difference, divide by the old value, and multiply by 100.

$\frac{-5}{14} = -0.357$
$-0.357 \times 100 = -35.7\%$

The Environmental Quality Survey (EQS)

\text{Total Site Score} = \sum (\text{individual feature scores})

Sign up to continue reading

Get full access to revision notes, key terms, and exam tips for every subtopic.

Exam Tips

Common Mistake
Students often confuse labels with annotations on an annotated field sketch. A label is just a single word identifier (e.g., "Litter"), whereas an annotation is an explanatory note describing the geographical processes happening (e.g., "Wind-blown litter accumulated against a fence due to a lack of bins").
2
In 8-mark fieldwork questions, examiners expect you to explicitly justify your site selection. Do not just state "I used Census data"; explain HOW the Census data helped you select contrasting or representative locations.
3
When asked to suggest a hypothesis for an unfamiliar urban context, always frame it as a directional prediction (e.g., stating scores will "decrease" or "increase") as this demonstrates it can be clearly tested and measured.

Key Terms(15)

Enquiry question: A broad geographical question that provides the framework and main focus for a fieldwork investigation.
Hypothesis: A specific, testable prediction that can be proven or disproven by collecting and analyzing data.
Null hypothesis: A statement suggesting no relationship exists or the exact opposite of what you expect to find, used to remove researcher bias.
SMART criteria: A framework ensuring research questions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Secondary data: Information that has been previously collected by someone else, such as Census records, IMD rankings, or historical maps.
Census: An official, comprehensive count or survey of a population, published every 10 years in the UK, providing baseline demographic data.
Baseline information: Initial, foundational data used to understand the geographical context of an area before new primary data is collected.
Temporal change: Differences observed in a geographical feature, variable, or location over a specific period of time.
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): A secondary dataset ranking areas in England by their level of deprivation, often used to justify fieldwork site selection.
Stratified sampling: A sampling method where an area or population is divided into sub-groups based on secondary data, and sites are deliberately chosen to ensure fair representation.
Goad maps: Detailed historical street maps showing specific retail units and shop types, used to measure changes in urban land use over time.
Quantitative data: Numerical information that can be counted, measured, and analyzed statistically.
Qualitative data: Non-numerical information that captures descriptive qualities, characteristics, or opinions.
Annotated field sketch: A geographical drawing of a landscape or environment that includes detailed explanatory notes describing the processes occurring.
Environmental Quality Survey (EQS): A data collection tool where various environmental features (like litter and noise) are subjectively scored on a numerical scale.

Previous Subtopic: Fieldwork: Coastal LandscapesCoastal Processes: Human Impacts and Implications Next NoteUrban Fieldwork: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

Back to Fieldwork: Urban Environments

Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for Geography A

Key Terms(15)

Enquiry question: A broad geographical question that provides the framework and main focus for a fieldwork investigation.
Hypothesis: A specific, testable prediction that can be proven or disproven by collecting and analyzing data.
Null hypothesis: A statement suggesting no relationship exists or the exact opposite of what you expect to find, used to remove researcher bias.
SMART criteria: A framework ensuring research questions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Secondary data: Information that has been previously collected by someone else, such as Census records, IMD rankings, or historical maps.
Census: An official, comprehensive count or survey of a population, published every 10 years in the UK, providing baseline demographic data.
Baseline information: Initial, foundational data used to understand the geographical context of an area before new primary data is collected.
Temporal change: Differences observed in a geographical feature, variable, or location over a specific period of time.
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): A secondary dataset ranking areas in England by their level of deprivation, often used to justify fieldwork site selection.
Stratified sampling: A sampling method where an area or population is divided into sub-groups based on secondary data, and sites are deliberately chosen to ensure fair representation.
Goad maps: Detailed historical street maps showing specific retail units and shop types, used to measure changes in urban land use over time.
Quantitative data: Numerical information that can be counted, measured, and analyzed statistically.
Qualitative data: Non-numerical information that captures descriptive qualities, characteristics, or opinions.
Annotated field sketch: A geographical drawing of a landscape or environment that includes detailed explanatory notes describing the processes occurring.
Environmental Quality Survey (EQS): A data collection tool where various environmental features (like litter and noise) are subjectively scored on a numerical scale.