Conclusion & Evaluation (AQA GCSE Geography)

Conclusion

• The fieldwork conclusion should:
  • Return to the hypothesis and aim
  • Identify any evidence that supports the hypothesis 
  • Outline any evidence that contradicts the hypothesis
  • Describe and explain any links to geographical theories
  • Acknowledge any unusual results
  • State whether the hypothesis is supported or not

• A key focus in the fieldwork questions in the exam is the evaluation of data collection
• Enquiry evaluation should:
  • Identify any problems with, and limitations of, data collection methods
  • Suggest other data which would have been useful in the study or improvements which could be made
  • Evaluate how reliable the conclusions were
  • Suggesting how the scope of the study could be extended

Data collection - problems and limitations

• There are always issues and limitations associated with data collection they may include:
  • Accessibility of sample sites: could all sample sites be accessed?
  • Size of sample: was the sample size large enough?
  • Duration of the data collection: was the enquiry time long enough to collect the data needed?
  • Methods: were the questions on questionnaires appropriate to meet the aim and test the hypothesis?
  • Equipment: were there any issues with the equipment?
  • Human error: were there any mistakes in recording data or reading the equipment?
  • Time of the data collection: did the weather or time impact the results collected?
  • Unforeseen issues: were there any problems on the day such as road works, and river flow which affected the results?

Other data and improvements

• There are always improvements which could be made to data collection these may include:
  • Increasing the sample size
  • Taking more measurements 
  • Looking at a wider range of secondary sources
  • Could other equipment have been used: a flow meter would be more accurate for measuring river velocity than a float

Evaluating the conclusions

• To evaluate the conclusion students should examine whether:
  • The conclusions reflect the aims and hypothesis set out at the start of the enquiry
  • The aim and hypothesis were appropriate: could the hypothesis be easily assessed
  • The location was appropriate 
  • The accuracy of results could be improved if the data collection were to be repeated