Human Geography Fieldwork Investigation

For AQA GCSE Geography, you must complete at least one fieldwork investigation in a human geography environment. Common topics include studies of urban areas, retail patterns, quality of life, and the impact of regeneration or tourism. This lesson provides detailed guidance on planning and conducting a human geography fieldwork investigation, with a focus on the most popular choice — an urban environmental quality study.

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Choosing a Human Fieldwork Topic

Common human fieldwork investigations include:

Topic	Example Question
Urban environmental quality	"How does environmental quality change with distance from the CBD?"
Retail and services	"How does the range and type of shops change across an urban area?"
Sphere of influence	"What is the sphere of influence of town X?"
Tourism impacts	"What are the environmental impacts of tourism in location Y?"
Urban regeneration	"How has regeneration changed the character of area Z?"
Transport and accessibility	"How does traffic flow and congestion vary across the town centre?"

The most popular — and the one we will focus on in detail — is the urban environmental quality study.

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Theoretical Framework

Several urban models can underpin your hypothesis:

The Burgess Model (Concentric Zone Model)

This model suggests that cities grow outwards in concentric zones from the CBD:

Zone	Name	Characteristics
1	CBD	Shops, offices, entertainment; high land values
2	Inner city / transition	Older housing, some industry, regeneration areas
3	Inner suburbs	Terraced housing, medium density
4	Outer suburbs	Semi-detached and detached housing, lower density
5	Rural-urban fringe	Newest housing estates, green spaces, retail parks

The Hoyt Model (Sector Model)

Similar to Burgess but suggests that land use develops in sectors (wedges) along transport routes rather than concentric rings.

Application to Fieldwork

You can hypothesise that environmental quality improves with distance from the CBD, based on these models: inner-city areas tend to have older, more run-down environments, while suburban areas tend to have newer housing and more green space.

Exam Tip: Always link your hypothesis to a specific urban model. This shows the examiner that you understand the geographical theory behind your prediction.

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Developing a Hypothesis

Examples:

• "Environmental quality will increase with distance from the CBD of town X"
• "There will be a negative correlation between distance from the CBD and the number of litter items recorded"
• "Pedestrian counts will be highest in the CBD and decrease towards the urban-rural fringe"

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Data Collection Methods

Environmental Quality Survey (EQS)

An Environmental Quality Survey uses a structured scoring system to assess the visual quality of an area.

How to conduct an EQS:

1. Design a bipolar assessment sheet with criteria rated from −5 to +5 (or a similar scale):

Criterion	−5	0	+5
Litter	Lots of litter	Some	No litter
Graffiti/vandalism	Lots	Some	None
Green space	No green space	Some	Lots of green space
Building condition	Poor/derelict	Average	Excellent
Noise level	Very noisy	Moderate	Very quiet
Traffic congestion	Very congested	Moderate	No congestion
Air quality	Polluted	Moderate	Clean/fresh
Pedestrian safety	Very unsafe	Moderate	Very safe

2. At each site, score every criterion independently
3. Calculate a total score for each site (the sum of all criteria)
4. Higher scores = better environmental quality; lower/negative scores = poorer quality

Pedestrian Counts

1. Stand at a fixed point at each survey site
2. Count the number of people passing in a set time period (e.g. 5 minutes)
3. Conduct counts at the same time of day at every site to ensure comparability
4. Record separately if required (e.g. male/female, direction of travel)

Land Use Surveys

1. Walk along a transect (a predetermined route) through the study area
2. Record the ground-floor use of every building (residential, retail, office, industrial, vacant, etc.)
3. Mark results on a base map or record in a table
4. Calculate the percentage of each land use category at each site or along each section

Questionnaire Surveys

If your investigation involves people's perceptions or behaviour:

1. Design closed questions (yes/no, multiple choice, rating scales) for easy analysis
2. Include a small number of open questions for richer qualitative data
3. Use random sampling (e.g. every 5th person) to reduce bias
4. Aim for a sample of at least 30 respondents for statistical reliability

Question Type	Example	Advantages	Disadvantages
Closed	"Rate the area 1–5 for safety"	Easy to analyse, quantitative	May miss nuance
Open	"What do you like most about this area?"	Rich, detailed responses	Hard to analyse, time-consuming
Multiple choice	"How did you travel here? a) Car b) Bus c) Walk d) Other"	Standardised, easy to present	May not cover all options

Exam Tip: If you used questionnaires in your fieldwork, be prepared to discuss ethical considerations — did you explain the purpose? Was participation voluntary? Did you protect respondents' anonymity?

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Sampling Strategy

For an urban study, systematic sampling is usually most appropriate:

• Select sites at regular intervals along a transect from the CBD outwards (e.g. every 200 m or 500 m)
• This ensures even coverage across the zones of the urban model
• Use an OS map or GIS to plan sites in advance

Alternatively, stratified sampling can be used:

• Divide the urban area into zones (CBD, inner city, suburbs, fringe)
• Take an equal number of samples in each zone

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Recording Data

Prepare a data recording sheet before fieldwork. Example for an EQS study:

Site	Grid Ref	Distance from CBD (m)	EQS Total Score	Pedestrian Count (5 min)	Notes
1	456789	0	−12	87	City centre, busy road
2	458791	500	−5	45	Terraced streets
3	461794	1000	+8	22	Semi-detached housing
...	...	...	...	...	...

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Presenting Results

Data	Suitable Presentation Method
EQS scores vs distance	Scatter graph with best-fit line
EQS scores on a map	Choropleth map or located proportional symbols
Pedestrian counts	Bar chart or located bar chart on a map
Land use	Pie chart (per site) or colour-coded map
Questionnaire results	Bar chart, pie chart or divided bar chart
Annotated photographs	To illustrate the visual character of each site

Annotated Photographs

Take a ground-level photograph at each site and annotate it with:

• Features that contribute to the EQS score (positive and negative)
• Evidence of land use, building condition, vegetation, litter, traffic
• The EQS score for that site

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Analysing Results

Describing the Pattern

• "Environmental quality generally increases with distance from the CBD. The lowest EQS score of −12 was recorded at site 1 in the CBD, while the highest score of +15 was at site 8, 2 km from the centre."
• "Pedestrian counts show a clear decline from 87 in the CBD to just 8 at the urban-rural fringe."

Statistical Analysis

Use Spearman's rank correlation to test the relationship between distance from the CBD and EQS score:

1. Rank both variables
2. Calculate d and d²
3. Apply the formula: rs = 1 − (6Σd² / n(n² − 1))
4. Compare with the critical value