bexhill fieldwork trip

define sampling

a small selection to represent a wider area. done to avoid bias.

define quality of life

the level of health, comfort and happiness by one person / a group

define accuracy

knowing how to use the equipment and surveys correctly, so your data is correct

define reliability

following a plan so your investigation can be repeated by someone else

define validity

measuring data that is actually helpful in answering your enquiry question

define transect

an area of land which can be studied + data recorded

define quantitative data

numerical data

define qualitative data

opinionative data

define primary data

data / information that we collect ourselves

define secondary data

data from a book, website or a talk from an agency

why are we carrying out our physical fieldwork in this location?

• “hold the line” - bexhill has a wide range of coastal management techniques that we can see

• can collect quantitative and qualitative data about the impact of coastal management and see how it changes at the three sites

• local so easy to visit

risk assessment for physical fieldwork

• cliff fall - keep distance from cliff and follow instructions

• drowning - keep away from the sea and follow instructors nearest to sea

• falling off groynes - do not climb on groynes

• weather (hot) - appropriate clothing, lots of water, suncream

why do we need to carry out a risk assessment?

to be aware of potential risks when visiting area

what are the different types of sampling?

• systematic sampling - taken at regular intervals (e.g. every 5m along a groyne)

• stratified sampling - a proportionate number of observations for the area

• random sampling - every ‘rock’ has an equal chance of being selected

what data collections were done for physical fieldwork?

• pebble survey: primary + quantitative

• groyne drop: primary + qualitative

• talk from environmental agency: secondary + qualitative

• rating sliders: primary + quantitative / qualitative

physical data collection: pebble survey

• we used a quadrant to select 10 pebbles from the front, middle and back of beach + callipers to measure the pebbles

• could improve by using systematic sampling instead of random sampling - e.g. using a tape measure to record length of one pebble every 1m

• helped us answer enquiry: we expected to see smaller pebbles at the front due to abrasion and attrition. as the pebbles aren’t larger at the back it may indicate beach nourishment / reprofiling happens.

physical data collection: groyne drop

• visual inspection to see if groyne has trapped more pebbles on the west side or east. couldn’t measure as too dangerous to climb on the groynes. sample size: 1 groyne / site

• helped us answer enquiry: we could see if groynes had an impact and reduced LSD. expected to see it higher on east side of groyne due to direction of prevailing winds and LSD.

physical data collection: talk from environment agency

• useful to us as these experts manage coastal areas + rivers, so they knew about coastal management impacts, benefits, future plans, etc

• helped us answer enquiry: gave us the bigger picture about the three sites and what they do at each (e.g. beach nourishment / reprofiling)

physical data collection: rating sliders

• we made judgements about 0-6 on the topics of cost, effectiveness, and sustainability for different coastal management strategies at each site

• benefits: quick, no specialist equipment

• disadvantages: subjective, small sample size

• helped us answer enquiry: turned our qualitative data into quantitative data so we could easily find + evaluate the best coastal management strategy

why are we carrying out our human fieldwork in this location?

• 2 very different streets next to each other so we can compare and question why they’re different easily

• close to school - accessible

• sea road is a commercial road, but cantelupe road contrasts as residential

risk assessment for human fieldwork

• being hit by a vehicle - teachers wear hi vis jackets, used crossing points as a group

• strangers pose a threat - policy for what to do

• getting lost - don’t leave your group, phone number if needed, regular headcounts

what data collections were done for human fieldwork?

• land use: primary + qualitative

• questionnaire: primary + qualitative

• census data: secondary + quantitative

• environmental quality assessment: primary + quantitative

human data collection: land use

• we marked every building on each road on a map (systematic sampling) according to a land use code (e.g. RF is Residential Flats)

• benefits: quick, easy to replicate, located as marked on a map, large sample size

• disadvantages: only records ground floor land use

• helped us answer enquiry: classified the most / least common land uses + helped us to see patterns along each road

human data collection: census data

• benefits: quick, easy, can read lots of data we can’t collect ourselves

• disadvantages: accuracy, how up-to-date it is

• helped us answer enquiry: useful as background info but could be out of date

human data collection: questionnaire

• we interviewed one person from each road, asking them a variety of questions about QofL. random sampling used so no specific age group targeted - bias free

• could improve by getting a larger sample size

• benefits: quick, easy

• disadvantages: questions may not be useful

• helped us answer enquiry: collected opinions from people who were actually live in the area so had a first-hand view of the QofL there

human data collection: environmental quality assessment

• we stopped at 4 sites along the road (stratified sampling) and looked around. we then made judgements about the features we saw

• benefits: quick, easy, non-intrusive

• disadvantages: opinion based so subjective

• helped us answer enquiry: observes how the environmental quality changes along the streets. each area scored out of 30 so very obvious

what was the census data for sea road + cantelupe road?

• sea road

  • 45% rented properties

  • 91% of people live in flats

  • 50% employed

• cantelupe road

  • 27% rented properties

  • 69% of people live in flats

  • 39% employed (many retired)

what other data may have been useful to answer our human fieldwork enquiry?

a vehicle count to show how busy each road is

what is our physical fieldwork enquiry?

what are the impact of coastal management on bexhill and surrounding coastal area?

to remember: physical (pebbles)

what is our human fieldwork enquiry?

how does the quality of life differ between two areas of bexhill?

to remember: human (houses)