Secondary data sources

For an investigation into changing rural areas, you need census data and one additional secondary source chosen by your centre. Choose information because it helps answer your investigation question, not simply because it is easy to find.

What census data can tell you

A census is an official survey of people and households. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes census results for England and Wales. Census 2021 topics include total population, age, types of housing and the jobs people do. These can help describe the population of a rural study area and provide context for the views you collect during fieldwork.

For example, age data could help you judge whether the age groups represented in your interviews reflect the wider local population. If your respondents are mainly younger people but the area profile includes a substantial older population, your interviews may miss important perspectives. The census supplies population context; it does not tell you whether residents are satisfied with rural life.

Build a census profile for your study area

The specification gives ONS Neighbourhood Statistics as an example of a census source. An ONS route for Census 2021 is Build a custom area profile, which lets you select an area and obtain relevant statistics.

Start by identifying the area your investigation covers. You can search for a named parish, ward, local authority or built-up area. A postcode search zooms the map to the surrounding area; it does not by itself define your investigation boundary. Select the geographical area that best matches your fieldwork sites.

If you need a custom area, you can select individual output areas, or use the polygon or radius drawing tools. These tools combine small statistical areas rather than extracting data for every household within an exact line. For polygon and radius selections, an output area is included when its population-weighted centre falls inside your drawn shape. Check the resulting boundary carefully: your selected census area may extend beyond the places you actually surveyed.

Build the profile, then select topics relevant to your question. Keep the area map so that the geographical coverage is clear, and download the figures as a CSV spreadsheet if you want to organise or present them. Record the publisher, census year, selected area, topic and access date so that someone else can identify the evidence you used.

Interpret the figures fairly

Choose measures that answer your question. Total population describes the size of a population; an age percentage describes its composition. Percentages are often more useful than raw counts when comparing differently sized areas, but check exactly which population each percentage refers to.

A single Census 2021 profile describes conditions at that census, not a trend. To investigate change, you would need comparable information from another date. Check that the boundaries and category definitions match before interpreting a difference as a real change.

Also consider geographical scale. Statistics for a whole parish may include settlements or countryside outside your fieldwork sites. They provide useful context, but should not be presented as precise information about every person or street you visited.

Choose one additional secondary source

The additional source is chosen by your centre; there is no single compulsory choice. It should add evidence that the census does not provide. For an investigation into changes in the physical extent of a rural settlement, a historical map could be a suitable choice.

The National Library of Scotland’s historical maps collection includes historic Ordnance Survey maps of England and Wales as well as Scotland. Its viewers allow historical mapping to be compared with modern maps using side-by-side views or a transparent overlay. This makes historical mapping a useful option for investigating settlement expansion, changes to roads or changes in woodland.

To use this choice, identify the map’s date and coverage, then compare the same area with a later map or your present-day observations. Locate features shown at both dates to match the areas, then look for changes in the extent of mapped buildings and the pattern of roads. Record where changes occur rather than simply stating that the maps look different.

For example, if buildings on a later map occupy land shown as fields on an earlier map, this would support a conclusion that the settlement has expanded onto formerly agricultural land. The map alone would not explain why expansion happened or how residents feel about it.

Check whether map differences represent real change

Check that the maps cover the same area and show a comparable level of detail. Map scale is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground. On a 1:25,000 map, 1 cm represents 250 m; on a 1:50,000 map, 1 cm represents 500 m. The 1:25,000 map is larger-scale and can show more detail.

Maps select and simplify features to remain readable. A small-scale map may omit individual buildings or merge them into a single built-up area. Therefore, a building appearing on one map but not another is not automatically evidence that it was built or demolished. Check each map’s key and scale before interpreting the difference.

Dates also need care. OS detailed mapping reflects features at the time of its last survey, which may differ from its publication date. Record the publisher, map date, survey or revision date where available, and scale. Explain why the map is relevant to your investigation question.

Bring the evidence together

Use the sources for different jobs: census data describes the population, an additional source can provide another dimension such as earlier settlement patterns, and your fieldwork supplies present-day observations or perceptions. Where evidence agrees, it can strengthen a conclusion. Where it differs, consider differences in dates, geographical coverage and what each method actually measures before deciding what the investigation shows.