Data Collection (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography)

Data Collection

Health and safety in the field

• Carry out a risk assessment on the area you have chosen

• Identify any hazards and ways they can be dealt with

• Dress appropriately to keep warm and dry. If strong sun is forecast, bring and wear sunscreen and a hat

• Contact details - always have a contact/meeting point, an emergency contact number and your school's telephone number

• Check the weather forecast for the area

• Make sure all mobile phones are fully charged with emergency numbers already uploaded and on speed dial if possible

• Have designated rendezvous points and emergency contacts

• River work 

  • Do not push people or otherwise mess about in the water

  • Take extreme care near river banks, especially where the ground is steep or wet

  • Wear suitable footwear at all times

  • Do not swim in the water 

• Coastal fieldwork

  • Check high and low tide times

  • Use dedicated footpaths to access the beach

  • Don’t climb on groynes or sea defence structures

  • Do not handle beach litter, wear gloves when picking up pebbles

  • Stay at least one metre away from the tide line and keep an eye on the waves

  • Do not enter the sea under any circumstances

  • Stay in pairs/threes and visual contact with a member of staff at all times

• Town centre

  • Ensure that you have the contact numbers for staff and that they have your mobile phone number too

  • Ensure your mobile phone is charged and in credit

  • Use the map in your pack to familiarise yourself with the area

  • Stay with your group at all times – no one should be on their own at any time

  • Keep valuables concealed – digital cameras are brought at your own risk

  • Only question people you are comfortable talking to and who are happy to help you

  • Avoid asking the same person as another group working in the same area

  • Use the pedestrian crossing where possible

• Equipment

  • Check all equipment is working and that you have enough for each student/group and some spares 

  • Make sure you know how to use specific equipment and/or any recording sheets provided

  • Ensure you practice using the equipment in a safe environment before taking it out in the field

  • Where laptops and smartphones are to be used and internet access is needed, check out that this is possible

  • If apps are to be used, make sure these are downloaded onto each piece of equipment

Data collection

• Data collected by the students within their fieldwork is primary data. 

• Examples of primary data can include:

  • Questionnaire data

  • River data - width, depth etc...

  • Video/audio recordings

  • Photographs

  • Interview information 

• Data collected by someone else but used by the student in their enquiry is secondary data

• Examples of secondary data can include:

  • Census results

  • Weather data 

  • Old photographs

  • Maps

  • Newspaper articles

  • Websites

Primary data

• Strengths of primary data include:

  • The data is reliable and valid if collected correctly

  • The data is specific to the enquiry

  • As much data as needed can be collected

  • The method of the collection is known

  • It is up-to-date

• Limitations of primary data include:

  • It is time-consuming to collect

  • Specialist equipment/resources may be required

  • The sample size needs to be large to be accurate

Secondary data

• Strengths of secondary data include:

  • It can be easy to access

  • It may be low-cost or free

  • Can be accessed quickly

  • A large amount of data sources are available

• Limitations of secondary data include:

  • It is not specific to the enquiry

  • No control over the data quality

  • Data may be biased

  • Data may be out of date

Quantitative data

• Data which records quantities is quantitative data

• Examples of quantitative data are:

  • Numerical data collected in questionnaires

  • Traffic counts

  • Environmental quality surveys

  • River data - velocity, discharge

  • Weather data

Qualitative data

• Data which records descriptive information is qualitative data

• Examples of qualitative data:

  • Field sketches and photographs

  • Non-numeric questionnaire data

  • Interview answers

Questionnaires and interviews

• When collecting data via questionnaires or interviews several questioning types can be used:

  • Closed questions where answers are limited to single words, numbers or a list of options

  • Statements which use a scale to gauge people's views. For example, strongly agree/agree 

  • Open questions where the respondent can give any answer

• Questionnaires can be used to gather a large sample of data

• Interviews are more in-depth and tend to be used to gather a smaller data sample

Environmental quality surveys

• These are used to collect data about the environmental quality of different sites

• They use the judgement of the person conducting the survey to assess environmental quality against a range of indicators

  • Using a sliding scale (1 -5) or bipolar scale (-3 to 3)

  • Usually, the lower the score the more negative the assessment of the environmental quality

• They are subjective because they are based on the opinion of the person completing them

• This can be reduced by:

  • Completing in small groups to reach a consensus regarding the score

  • Using the mode of EQS completed by several students

• They produce quantitative data