Geography - NEA, unit 3

Define ‘primary data sources’ (4)

Define ‘primary data sources’ (4)

• Data is collected directly from the data source, without using existing sources.

• Mostly first-hand experience.

• Reliable, authentic and objective because it was collected with the purpose of answering a particular question.

• The original data.

What are the most popular examples of primary data sources? (6)

1. Interview (personal, telephone, e-mail)

2. Surveys

3. Questionares

4. Field observations

5. Photographs

6. Measurements

What primary data was gathered in Bridgend Retailing (7)

1. Perception questionare

2. Environmental quality survey (EQA)

3. Adjectives survey

4. Pedestrian count

5. Car par survey

6. Photographs

7. Site descriptions

What primary data was gathered in River Ilston (7)

1. River width

2. River depth

3. River speed

4. Bed load size

5. Bed load shape

6. Photographs

7. Site descriptions

What are the strengths of primary data? (5)

1. Specific to the needs of the researcher at the moment of data collection.

2. It is more accurate and authentic compared to secondary data since it is not subjected to personal data and such authenticity can be trusted.

3. Up-to-date/recent because it collects data in real-time and is hence not outdated.

4. The researcher has a higher level of control over the data collected as they can decide which design, method and data analysis techniques are used.

5. The researcher owns the information, which can remain hidden from current and potential competitors. Also, the owner could choose to sell their primary data research.

What are the weaknesses of primary data? (4)

1. more expensive - a whole study procedure is needed along with materials and processes.

2. time-consuming - much longer than secondary data

3. can have a lot of limitations - limits could include time, place, number of participants etc.

4. Not always feasible - many investigations are too large or complex to research. access to a place may also be forbidden

Define ‘secondary data’

The data has been collected in the past or by someone else but is made available for other people to use/borrow. Secondary data was at one time primary data but become secondary when used by someone else.

What are the strengths of secondary data? (12)

1. Easily accessible - shared publicly and can be accessed by researchers.

2. Low cost

3. Time saving - very little compared to primary data

4. Generates new insights and understandings - reanalysing old data can bring new understanding, points of views or new relevant conclusions.

5. Larger sample size

6. Anyone can collect the data - regardless of ability or experience.

7. Context - could be compared to primary data to hep explain the patterns.

8. Source reliabiliity - Normally from a reliable website/organisation.

9. Allows comparisons - with many other locations

10. Adds validity to conclusions

11. Can back up primary data

12. Safety risk reduced

What are the weaknesses of secondary data? (7)

1. Non-specific - Does not normally reach the researchers specific needs.

2. Referenced - Must be properly referenced or it is plagiarism.

3. Reliability of source

4. Poor quality - Reliability must be evaluated.

5. Biasness

6. Out of date

7. Inappropriateness - may not be directly linked to hypothesis/field locations.

What are the most popular examples of secondary data sources? (10)

1. websites

2. maps

3. leaflets

4. textbooks

5. newspapers

6. previous research

7. governmental reports

8. official statistics

9. letters/diaries

10. encylopedias

What secondary data was gathered in Bridgend Retailing (5)

1. Internet websites

2. OS maps

3. Google earth images

4. Newspaper articles

5. Textbooks

What secondary data was gathered in River Ilston (4)

1. Internet websites

2. OS maps

3. Google Earth images

4. Textbooks

What is qualitative research?

• Information that is to numerical.

• Can be collected in the form of text, oral accounts, interviews or images.

What is quantitive research?

• Collects evidence that can be counted or measured e.g. traffic surveys or measuring river width/depth.

• Some as number scales e.g. bipolar survey.

Give 4 examples of on qualitative research.

1. Field sketch

2. Photos

3. Interviews

4. Emotional mapping

Give 3 examples of quantitative research.

1. Traffic/Pedestrian survey

2. Wind speed

3. Discharge

Give 2 research methods that are both qualitative and quantitative.

1. Bipolar surveys

2. Likert surveys

What sampling techniques did we use in Bridgend? (2)

System sampling: to identify the sites, making sure they were equidistant apart.

Systemic sampling: asking every 5th person to complete the questionnaire survey - this didn’t work so we had to use opportunistic sampling instead.

What sampling techniques did we use in River Ilston (3)

Systemic sampling: to identify the sites along the river to ensure they were equidistant apart - this did not work and instead we had to use opportunistic sampling to access the sites where it was safe to do so.

Systemic sampling: to measure depth every 20cm across the channel, starting at the LB.

Random sampling: to select 10 stones at random from the bed load in order to measure and classify them.

What are 3 strengths of systemic sampling?

1. Quick, easy and more convent than random sampling.

2. More accurate as it removes the possibility that the random sample selects too many examples from one part of the distribution.

3. Reflects the change in variables accurately e.g. velocity across the river channel.

What are 2 weaknesses of systemic sampling?

1. Can inadvertently pick up bias, e.g. sampling every 50m may coincide with main crossing points for pedestrians.

2. Access at regular intervals may be impossible due to private land ownership or dangerous steep river banks.

What are the 2 strengths of opportunistic sampling?

1. Allows access to river sites that are safe or on public land.

2. Less time consuming / easiest method to use.

What is the primary weakness of opportunistic sampling?

The data is unlikely to accurately represent the population.

What is the primary strength of random sampling?

Removes human bias involved in the selection bias, and does not tempt you to choose sites that appear to confirm own hypothesis.

What is the primary weakness of random sampling?

If sample size is quite small you might be able to obtain an unrepresentative result.

What is the primary strength of stratified sampling?

Ensures all categories are represented. It can ensure that traffic flows are sampled on a variety of types of roads, for example.

What are the 2 weaknesses of stratified sampling?

1. Difficult to know what subsects of data you want to include without a pilot study or prior use of secondary data.

2. Access to specific sites along a river to measure flows may be a problem.

What are transects used for?

To investigate the gradual change of a variable over space. The transect could be in a straight line or it could be along a road/river, that can change direction. Sites are identified along the transect, where measurements/surveys are undertaken.

When did the river investigation involve a transect?

The river was the transect. We stopped at different points along the river (upper, middle, and lower course) to see how the river variables (width, depth, velocity and bed load) changed as the river flowed from its source to mouth.

What was the ideal sampling method along the transect at the river, but what did we have to do instead?

Ideally our sites would be identified at systemic points along the transect e.g. every 500m. However, this was not always appropriate and sometimes points of study were selected based on opportunity based on health and safety.

When did the Bridgend retailing involve transects?

The 3 sites in Bridgend town centre were located at systematic points approximately 200m apart as were our 3 sites in McArthur Glen.

What are the 4 strengths of using transects?

1. Less effort and time needed.

2. Belt transects enable detailed information about the amount, as well as presence, of variables to be collected at each sampling location.

3. Easy to apply systemic sampling to identify sites at equal distance along the transect.

4. If you use quadrats, these can be divided into smaller squares so that it is possible to estimate the percentage distribution of whatever feature is being measured.

What are the 3 weaknesses of using transects?

1. Interrupted belt transects can save time but important variations in the data may be missed in the gaps between samples.

2. If sites are identified using opportunistic sampling then there could be greater distance between sites and then information/changes can be overlooked.

3. Only takes into account the currently observable data at that given time; it may not represent a common picture of the variable at the site.

Why is it important to take more than one reading when conducting an investigation? (5)

1. Obtain more data to improve validity and reliability by calculating averages.

2. To overcome the danger of chance and flawed readings.

3. To see how readings vary from place to place

4. To see how readings vary at different times of a day/ week e.g. in response to weather.

5. To see how readings fluctuate over short periods of time.

What 4 situations did we take more than 1 reading

1. Average depth of the river

2. Average speed of the river

3. Average bed load size of the river

4. Pedestrian counts in Bridgend

Why/when did we take more than 1 reading when calculating the average depth of the river?

We took readings systematically across the river channel every 20m and so when calculating average depth at the different sites, we added up all the depths across the channel and divided by the number of readings taken. This would help to prove whether the river got deeper/shallower as it flowed downstream.

Why/when did we take more than 1 reading when calculating the average speed of the river?

We took 3 readings of how quickly the float travelled 1 metre downstream. We used three readings to calculate the average time taken to travel 1m prior to calculating the average speed at the different sites. This would help to prove whether the river shed up or slowed down as it flowed downstream.

Why/when did we take more than 1 reading when calculating the average bed load size of the river?

We measured the long axis of 10 pebbles randomly selected at each site. We used these readings to calculate the average bed load size for each site by adding up the different lengths and dividing by 10. This would help to prove what happened to the bed load size as the river flowed downstream.

Why/when did we take more than 1 reading when calculating the pedestrian counts in Bridgend?

We took 3 pedestrian counts at each of the sites in Bridgend and in McArthur Glen so that we could work out the average pedestrian count for each site. This would enable us to see which sites were busiest.

Bar chart - strengths. (3)

1. Simple to construct and read.

2. Easy to understand.

3. Effective for showing discreet data, especially if in rank order.

Bar chart - weaknesses. (4)

1. Do not show direction of flow.

2. Difficult for them to show data that covers a very large range - choosing an appropriate scale can be difficult as a result.

3. Can be manipulated to yield false impressions

4. Fail to reveal key assumptions, causes, effects and patterns.

Line graphs - strengths (5)

1. Simple to construct and read,

2. Effective for showing continuous data such as wind speeds or discharge.

3. Can be used to effectively predict results.

4. You can use them to show multiple how the depth can vary across a river’s width, thus producing a cross-section.

5. Show change well

Line graphs - weaknesses (4)

1. Can be difficult to construct and read if values are large and the variation in data is small.

2. Accuracy is required.

3. If there are too many line graphs on the same axis, they can become easily cluttered and hard to read.

4. When data is fractional/decimal it is hard to plot.

Scatter graphs - strengths (2)

1. Visualising effective for representing correlations between 2 data sets.

2. Show the strength of the correlation, dependent on the gradient of the line of best fit.

Scatter graphs - weaknesses (3)

1. Difficult to determine whether relationship are positive or negative if not close to a line.

2. Strength of a suspected correlation cannot be measured without use of a statistical test.

3. 10 points are needed at least in order to display a relationship.

Pie chart - strengths (5)

1. Visually effective in showing proportion, especially large sets of data.

2. Display multiple classes of data in one chart.

3. Visually appealing.

4. Require little explanation as they are easily understood.

5. The size of the pie chart can be made proportional to the size of the population it represents.

Pie charts - weaknesses (3)

1. Do not easily reveal exact values.

2. Often fail to reveal key assumptions, causes, effects or patterns.

3. Can be easily manipulated to yield false impressions.

What factors should be considered when designing a qualitative survey? (8)

1. sample size

2. number of questions - too many is off-putting

3. relevance - do they answer the main questions

4. open/closed questions - open is faster

5. sampling technique

6. pilot survey - yes or no to determine if survey/questions work

7. Risk assessment

8. Ethically sound - check it will not cause offence

Evaluate the different methods you used - outline (list the paragraphs)

1. taking photographs

2. listing adjectives

3. questionare

4. environmental quality survey

Evaluate the different methods you used - taking photographs (8)

• We chose these to compare and contrast the sites because they are quick, easy and simple to use.

• Accurate snapshot of site at the time we visited.

• Reliable and can be annotated to describe sites and analyse differences.

• Can be compared to google street view to see change over-time.

• Date, time and location stamp.

• Can be manipulated to show only what you want to show e.g. cutting out graffiti

• Out of date the moment they’re taken.

• Could be proved next time by visiting multiple times and photographing same place.

Evaluate the different methods you used - listing adjectives (6)

• Used to describe sites.

• Quick, easy simple to gauge what site is like.

• Word cloud can be produced to compare sites easily.

• Not objective - based on peoples opinions so could be bias

• Do not allow for detailed description of site

• Next time I could ask people at different times and on different days to see change.

Evaluate the different methods you used - questionnaire (9)

• We asked why they visited, how they arrived and how long they were staying.

• Range of answers, including Likert scale to gauge strength of a response.

• Quick, easy, simple.

• Closed questions - quick to answer so people were more willing.

• Compare and contrast sites.

• Difficult to get people to answer

• Systematic sampling didn’t work (every 5th person) so we instead used opportunistic sampling.

• Only could ask 5 people, not busy, accuracy was questionable.

• Next time - different times and days to see similarities, differences and change.

Evaluate the different methods you used - environmental quality survey (7)

• To describe, and compare the environmental quality variation between the sites.

• Could compare overall EQ and easy to break down due to subheadings.

• Simple, quick and easy and gives reliable data.

• Used a bipolar EQ survey, graded from poor (1) to excellent (5) to gauge strength.

• Different people in my group completed it at different sites so it wasn’t consistent and hence not reliable.

• Improve - ask members of the general public and then compare with other groups.

• Improve - different times and days to see change over time.

Why did we select our locations for the River Alston? (7)

• Title was ‘How do the characteristics of the River Alston change as it flows downstream?’

• Six sites along river starting at upper course.

• Each site was located with increased distance downstream until the lower course.

• Ideally, we wanted systematic points every 500m but we had to select on opportunity and ease of access due to health and safety.

• Sites were easy to move between, could gather all information in the time we had.

• At each site we measured our different variables to determine how the river changed as it flowed from source to mouth.

• The sites allowed us to compare and contrast the data at the different sites and identify trends, in order to address the aim of the investigation and quantify the changes that are seen.

Why did we select our locations for Bridgend? (7)

• Title was ‘Is environmental quality the most important factor in determining where people shop?’

• Three sites in Bridgend town centre and three in McArthur Glen retail park.

• With these sites we could determine the different factors at play in the two different urban locations, in order to compare and contrast and identify trends.

• Sites were identified systematically being 200km apart.

• All sites were accessible and so there was no health and safety risk.

• We could move between all the 3 sites in both locations easily and in the time avadiable.

• The sites were relevant to the aim of the investigation.

Explain why we used systematic sampling? (4)

• To identify the sites when investigation retailing in Bridgend ensuring that are sites were equidistant (200m) apart.

• Also used to ask people to complete the questionnaire asking every 5th person to answer the questions at each site.

• Not always possible (questionnaire) so we had to use opportunistic where we had people more receptive to answer our questions.

• Systematic is quicker easier and more convenient than random sampling and also more accurate as it avoids too many samples in one part of the distribution.

To what extent do you agree ‘secondary data is essential to support primary data when completing an investigation’? (4 x primary, 4 x secondary)

• In Bridgend investigation both primary and secondary were used.

• Primary - photos, EQA, questionnaires, adjectives.

• Primary was important as it helped directly answer question of if environment is main factor in effecting where people shop.

• Other advantages/ disadvantages are…

• Secondary - internet/textbook theory helped explain results, providing background info and context.

• Used OS maps to identify sites

• Google Earth and street view helped me see how places have changed

• Other advantages/ disadvantages are…

Explain how conclusions went against your predictions? - River Ilston (4)

1. CORRECT - as the river flowed downstream it got wider, deeper and slowed down. Width (give data) increased due to lateral erosion, especially hydraulic action, eroding the river banks and widening the channel as it flowed downstream. There was a positive relationship between width and distance from the source. Hypothesised correctly.

2. CORRECT - Depth increased from (data to data). Increased due to vertical erosion, specifically abrasion and solution, eroding the river bed and deepening the channel. Positive relationship between distance from the source and depth as I expected.

3. CORRECT - Speed decreased as it flowed down. (Data). The reason it decreased is as a result of the change in gradient. At site one the gradient is steep so river flows fast. At site 6, gradient is less so speed is slower. This is a negative relationship that I predicted correctly.

4. CORRECT - Bedload shape has very angular rocks near source, but by the time it was transported to bed 6 it was more rounded, I expected this. This is because of abrasion and attrition, wearing the materials down.

How do we overcome these risks:

1. Bus travel

2. Traffic

3. Strangers

4. Weather

5. Getting lost

1. Seatbelt, no headphones, no food and drink, get off and on in an orderly fashion.

2. Cross at designated crossings, stick to pavements, if walking on road face oncoming traffic, abide by the road safety rules.

3. Minimum of 3 per group, have school emergency phone #, stay in well lit public places.

4. Wear appropriate clothes and shoes, suncream, wellies, sunhat, lots of layers for temperature variation.

5. Groups of minimum of 3, school emergency phone #, well lit public places, don’t stray too far, clear meet place.

Ethical issues (4)

1. no dropping litter

2. no trespassing

3. no photos/recordings of full number plates on cars

4. guesstimate ages, don’t ask

Why has shopping in towns/city centres such as Bridgend declined over time? (7)

1. Shopping was expensive due to expensive land rents.

2. Parking is limited and not free.

3. No protection from extreme weather.

4. Lack of security meaning its more dangerous.

5. Vacant shops and charity shops leaving a lack of choice.

6. Environment is poor with litter, graffiti and need of modernisation.

7. Harder to access older roads for deliveries particularly.

Why have out-of-town shopping centres and retail parks, like McArthur Glen become more popular? (8)

1. Visit several shops close together.

2. Protection from extreme weather.

3. Access sites easily - motorways and road networks, less congestion.

4. Free parking that’s less busy.

5. Safe due to increased security.

6. Other facilities present to make it more enjoyable.

7. Larger, modern shopping units with a greater range of goods.

8. Environment is well maintained and attractive with plants, seats, sculptures.

What has happened as a result of the success of out-of-town shopping?

There has been decentralisation of retailing, whereby major shops have moved their premises from city centre locations to retail parks at the edge of the city. This causes the polo effect where there us ab economic, social and retailing hole in the middle of the city.

What was the aim of our River Alston investigation?

To investigation how the River Alston changes as it flows downstream?

What were the 6 key questions for the River Ilston investigation?

1. How does the width change as the river flows downstream?

2. How does the depth change as the river flows downstream?

3. How does the velocity change as the river flows downstream?

4. How does the cross-sectional area change as the river flows downstream?

5. How does the bed load characteristics change as the river flows downstream?

6. What is the relationship between width and depth as the river flows downstream?

What were the 6 hypothesis’ for the River Ilston investigation?

1. I expect to find that the width increases as the river flows downstream.

2. I think that the depth will increase as the river flows downstream.

3. I believe that the velocity will increase as the river flows downstream.

4. I assume that the cross-sectional area will increase as the river flows downstream.

5. I anticipate that the bed load will become smaller and more angular as the river flows downstream.

6. I presume there will be a relationship between width and depth as the river flows downstream.

Where did we use ‘x’ sampling technique in the river Ilston investigation:

1. Systematic sampling

2. Opportunistic sampling

3. Random sampling

1. We wanted to use this to identify the six sites as the river flowed downstream as we warred the sites to be equidistant apart. However, we ended up using opportunistic instead, accessing the river where it was safe to do so.

2. We used this technique in order to access the sites along the river, where it was safe to do so.

3. We used this technique to randomly select 10 stones from the channel at each site.

Secondary techniques that could be used at river Ilston? (5)

1. OS maps of the river for site identification.

2. Google earth images of the river and sites.

3. Old photographs from the Internet.

4. Information from textbooks on river processes of erosion, transportation and deposition.

5. Weather data for September. The weather could affect how much water was in the river channel and wherever or not the fieldwork was safe to proceed with.

What are the 2 extra risks for the River Alston? What can be done to overcome the risk?

1. Trips and falls - teachers have first aid kid and a list of emergency contacts, wear sensible clothing and appropriate footwear to the environment, stay with group at all time.

2. River - only access at safe points, wear appropriate footwear in river, follow teacher instructions at all times, stay together as a large group.

Ethical issues - River Ilston?

1. no dropping litter

2. no trespassing

3. no photos/recordings of people or their property

4. stick to footpaths to prevent trampling

5. do not disturb local residences

What happens in the upper valley of the river? (4)

1. Vertical erosion with hydraulic acton, abrasion and attrition dominant processes

2. Traction and saltation at high flow

3. Load size is large and angular

4. V shaped valleys

What happens in the middle reaches of the river? (4)

1. The channel is deeper and wider

2. Vertical erosion decreases in importance, with more lateral erosion and deposition

3. Suspension is the main transportation type

4. The load becomes smaller and less angular

What happens in the lower reaches of the river? (4)

1. At its widest and deepest and may be tidal

2. Deposition is more important than erosion

3. Fine material is deposited

4. Large amount of land but the size is very small and very rounded

What are the 4 processes of erosion and their definitions?

1. Hydraulic action - The force and weight of the water as it crashes against the river bed and banks, wearing it away.

2. Abrasion - Material is carried by the river scour and scrape the river bed and banks making the channel wider and deeper.

3. Solution - Chemicals in the water react with the rocks, dissolving them.

4. Attrition - Materials carried by the river knock into each other getting smaller and more rounded with time.

What are the 5 processes of transportation and their definitions?

1. Traction - Large rocks and boulders roll along the river bed under high-energy conditions.

2. Saltation - Pebbles bounce along the river bed.

3. Suspension - sand and silt float in suspension within the river channel.

4. Solution - dissolved materials are carried in an invisible state.

5. Deposition - The river deposits its materials under low energy conditions.

Strengths of Bridgend investigation - Evaluation (6)

1. Able to complete in allocated time.

2. Visited 6 sites to compare locations across both McArthur Glen and Bridgend.

3. Took 3 readings to calculate averages e.g. pedestrian counts.

4. Were able to find people to complete questionnaires/surveys.

5. Were able to collect a range of qualitative and quantitative results.

6. Worked well as a group when gathering data.

Weaknesses of Bridgend investigation - Evaluation (7)

1. Not able to get every 5th person (systematically) to complete the questionare and instead used opportunistic sampling.

2. Different people answered the EQ survey so it was inconsistent and based on opinion.

3. The axis wasn’t always clear on graph making it hard to plot.

4. Only visited 6 sites - should have visited more.

5. Not enough people answered the questionnaire survey.

6. Should have completed the pedestrian count for longer periods of time and taken more readings in order to increase accuracy.

7. Using car registrations to determine distance is unreliable because they could be second hand or private plates.

What would I change Bridgend investigation - Evaluation (7)

1. Ask more people to complete questionnaire survey.

2. Use systematic, not opportunistic sampling.

3. Visit more sites.

4. Take more readings to calculate stronger, more reliable averages.

5. Make greater use of maps with the data presentation.

6. Visit sites and different times and days to see how results change.

7. Compare Bridgend and McArthur Glen with a different town/retail park to identify similarities and differences.

Strengths of River Ilston investigation - Evaluation (9)

1. Were able to complete the investigation the allocated time.

2. Visited 6 sites along the long profile of the river, starting at source and ending at mouth to see how the river changed as it flows downstream.

3. Sites were easily accessible, safe and there was water present in the channel.

4. Took multiple readings to calculate averages e.g. speed to travel 1m, average depth, and average bed load size.

5. Was able to collect a range of quantitative and qualitative.

6. Was able to use a range of techniques to present the data.

7. Worked well as a group when gathering data.

8. The dog biscuit, used to see speed of river downstream, was biodegradable.

9. We faced downstream when collecting data to ensure our results were working from LB to the RB.

Weaknesses of River Ilston investigation - Evaluation (7)

1. Wanted systematic intervals between sites, but this wasn’t always possible.

2. Different people completed different measurements so there was a lack of consistency at times.

3. The axis on the graph wasn’t always clear making them hard to plot.

4. Only visited 6 sites

5. When calculating float time we should have taken 3 readings at different points across the channel.

6. Should have collected for than 10 stones per site when investigating the bed load.

7. Poor quality fieldwork equipment meant that our results were not always accurate.

What would I change River Ilston investigation - Evaluation (9)

1. Visit more sites along the long profile of the river.

2. Use systematic, not opportunistic sampling, to visit sites that are equidistant apart.

3. Take more readings at each site to create stronger, more reliable averages.

4. Make greater use of maps with the data presentation.

5. Visit the sites at different times of day to see how the results change.

6. Visit the sites on different days to see how the results change.

7. Compare the River Ilston with another river to identify any similarities/differences.

8. Use more sophisticated technology such as a flowmeter to make our results more accurate.

9. Plot our graphs using a computer to ensure the data presentation technique is more accurate.