GCSE-ready- Home
- Lessons
- GCSE & IGCSE Geography A
- The enquiry process: sampling, presenting and evaluating
The enquiry process: sampling, presenting and evaluating
🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.
Every fieldwork question follows the same enquiry process. Knowing it helps you answer questions about any investigation.
Planning and sampling
Start with an enquiry question or hypothesis, for example 'Velocity increases downstream'.
Sampling chooses where to collect data:
Random: sites chosen by chance, avoiding bias.
Systematic: at regular intervals, such as every 10 m.
Stratified: in proportion to different groups or areas.
More samples make results more reliable.
Sampling chooses where to collect data:
Random: sites chosen by chance, avoiding bias.
Systematic: at regular intervals, such as every 10 m.
Stratified: in proportion to different groups or areas.
More samples make results more reliable.
Presenting and analysing
Choose graphs that suit the data: line graphs for change over distance or time, bar charts for categories, scatter graphs to test a relationship, and maps with proportional symbols or flow lines for places.
Use averages (mean, median, mode) and range to describe data, and look for trends and anomalies.
Use averages (mean, median, mode) and range to describe data, and look for trends and anomalies.
Concluding and evaluating
A conclusion answers the enquiry question using evidence and data.
Evaluation considers how accurate (close to the true value) and reliable (would give similar results if repeated) the data were, problems with methods, and how to improve the investigation.
Evaluation considers how accurate (close to the true value) and reliable (would give similar results if repeated) the data were, problems with methods, and how to improve the investigation.
A student measures velocity at 3 sites along a river on one day. Suggest how to improve the reliability of the results.
- Take more measurements at each site and calculate a mean.
- Use more sites along the river.
- Repeat the investigation on another day in similar weather.
Answer: Repeat readings, more sites and repeat on another day.
Enquiry: question or hypothesis, sampling (random, systematic, stratified), data collection, presentation, analysis, conclusion and evaluation. Reliable means repeatable; accurate means close to the true value. More samples and repeat readings improve reliability.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.