WJEC AS-Level Geography 601-8455-3
Coastal Landscapes
Glaciated Landscapes
Tectonic Hazards
Changing Places
Fieldwork and Geographical Skills
Fieldwork and Geographical Skills
- 6 subtopics
- 18 things to know
- AS Unit 2
What Fieldwork and Geographical Skills covers
Fieldwork and Geographical Skills is examined in AS Unit 2, Changing Places, where fieldwork is tested in Section B, and geographical skills are tested in every unit. It covers the six-stage enquiry process, sampling and data collection, presenting geographical data, statistical analysis of geographical data and fieldwork techniques and apparatus.
The 6 subtopics
Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Geography students sit this topic in the first year.
- The six-stage enquiry processSix stages of the geographical enquiry process, null hypothesis and secondary data useful in a geographical enquiry.Open →
- Sampling and data collectionRandom sampling, systematic sampling and stratified sampling.Open →
- Presenting geographical dataIsoline map, choropleth map and flow line map.Open →
- Statistical analysis of geographical dataThree measures of central tendency, range of a data set and interquartile range and state what it shows.Open →
- Fieldwork techniques and apparatusHow to sample pebbles for a study of longshore drift, how to measure river discharge and environmental quality survey.Open →
- Map skills: grid references, latitude and longitude, scale and directionFour- and six-figure grid references, latitude and longitude, 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 OS map scales, measuring straight and curved distances and areas, and giving direction by compass point and bearing.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How is a beach profile measured in the field?
Name the six stages of the geographical enquiry process.
What is an isoline map?
Name the three measures of central tendency.
What must be settled in the planning stage of an enquiry?
Define sampling.
What is a choropleth map?
When is the median a better summary than the mean?
How is a quadrat used along a transect through a dune system?
Define a null hypothesis.
Describe random sampling.
What is a dot map used for?
Define the range of a data set.
Describe how to measure river discharge.
What are latitude and longitude?
How do 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 OS maps differ?
What is landscape character assessment?
Take Fieldwork and Geographical Skills further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Random sampling vs Systematic sampling
Random sampling: a design in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen. Systematic sampling: a design in which sites are chosen at fixed intervals, guaranteeing even coverage.
Primary data vs Secondary data
Primary data: information gathered at first hand by the investigator. Secondary data: information gathered and published by somebody else and then used.
Correlation vs Causation
Correlation: a measured association between two variables, showing they move together. Causation: a claim that one variable produces the other, which no measurement of association alone can establish.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Name the six stages of the geographical enquiry process.
Model answer
Context and planning, data collection, presentation and display, analysis and interpretation, conclusion, and evaluation.
- 2
What must be settled in the planning stage of an enquiry?
Model answer
The research question, the data needed to answer it, the methods and equipment to collect that data, and an assessment of risk and ethical issues.
- 3
What makes a good geographical research question?
Model answer
It is specific, answerable with data that can realistically be collected, and framed so that the answer is not obvious before the fieldwork begins.
- 4
Why should a hypothesis be stated before data are collected?
Model answer
It commits the investigator to a testable prediction, so the analysis tests the idea rather than being fitted to whatever the data happened to show.
- 5
Define a null hypothesis.
Model answer
A null hypothesis states that there is no relationship or no difference between the variables being tested.
- 6
Give three risks that should be assessed before coastal fieldwork.
Model answer
Being cut off by the incoming tide, unstable cliffs and rock fall, and slippery rocks and deep water.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Fieldwork and Geographical Skills revision questions
- Is Fieldwork and Geographical Skills examined at AS in WJEC Geography?
- Yes. It sits in AS Unit 2, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Fieldwork and Geographical Skills cover in WJEC AS-Level Geography?
- 6 subtopics: the six-stage enquiry process, sampling and data collection, presenting geographical data, statistical analysis of geographical data, fieldwork techniques and apparatus and map skills: grid references, latitude and longitude, scale and direction. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Fieldwork and Geographical Skills organised?
- By the WJEC 601-8455-3 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Fieldwork and Geographical Skills, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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