Fieldwork in Human and Physical Geography: Data Collection and Analysis in Snowdonia, Study notes of Geography

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The fieldwork

component

Context

Purpose and value of fieldwork and how it relates to the course Terms Enquiry process Geographical skills

Terms

Quantitative data

Data that can be measured and counted – and is readily processed using graphs,maps and statistics Qualitative data

Data that does not have a numerical value, e.g. opinions, comment,descriptions… which is therefore not very easy to process.It is valuable as it can provide a context for quantitative data.It can sometimes be encoded it to make limited processing possible (e.g. by categorising people’s views/opinions

The Enquiry Process

Context & planning

• identifying/refining questions; choosing suitable locations;

deciding on collection methods; risk assessments 2.

Data collection

• acquiring data pertinent to the investigation with an

appropriate balance between primary & secondary, and quantitative & qualitative 3.

Presentation & display

• using appropriate methods to enable…

Analysis & interpretation of findings

• interrogate data to identify & describe

patterns, trends and relationships; apply concepts & processes to understandobserved data 5.

Conclusion

• synthesise/summarise findings to draw conclusions relating to

original questions 6.

Evaluation of the whole investigation

• critically reflect on every stage of the

investigation to appreciate strengths & limitations; consider accuracy, validity &reliability of methodology and findings; suggest improvements for furtherresearch

Snowdonia Fieldtrip

The equivalent of three days of fieldwork: 2 half days + 2 whole days Human Geography:

investigations relating to:

Changing Places

Re-imaging/rebranding in Blaenau FfestiniogImportance of tourism in Betws-y-Coed

Physical Geography:

investigations relating to:

Glaciated Landscapes

• around Llyn Llydaw on Snowdon:

Glacial deposition – identifying landforms in the fieldPeriglacial slope processes – scree development Coastal Landscapes

• beach management impacts at Dinas Dinlle

Ecosystems at the Local Scale

• sand dunes at Morfa Dinlle

½ day ½ day^ 1 day^ 1 day

Locations

Data collection methods

Environmental Quality Assessment – bipolar^ It can be difficult to decide on appropriate opposite descriptionsAlways make sure you have the descriptions on the correct side of the scale!

Data collection methods

Environmental Quality Assessment – scoring

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Wikipedia entry

Glaciated Landscapes - 1

Are the depositional landforms around Llyn Llydaw mainly lodgement orablation in origin?

Glaciated Landscapes - 1

Are the depositional landforms around Llyn Llydaw mainly lodgement orablation in origin?

Landform appearance

What differences might be apparent?How could the landforms be described?What sort of data is it?

Sediment sampling – till fabric analysis You can’t measure every clast in every landform,so you will need to devise an appropriatesampling method.A useful piece of equipment would be a quadrat:

How could this be used to select clasts?How many clasts should you aim to measure?What should be considered in making this decision?