What this lesson teaches
I can plan a fieldwork investigation with a clear question that can be tested in the time and with the tools available.
Syllabus K226, Topic 1.3, Key Question 1. How to design fieldwork?
I can choose a sampling method and collect primary data with questionnaires, interviews and mental maps.
Syllabus K226, Topic 1.3, Key Question 2. How to collect primary data?
Make a guess
Students want to know whether paved parts of an estate are hotter than shaded parts. What data should they collect?
- Thermometer readings in each place at one time.
- A count of people walking through each place.
- A survey asking residents which place feels hotter.
- Photos showing how much shade each place gets on one morning.
Show the answer
Thermometer readings in each place at one time.
The question asks how hot each place is, so it needs measured air temperatures, taken the same way and in the same time window.
Let the question choose the method: measure heat with instruments, count crowds at set times, and use maps and interviews for sense of place.
A fieldwork question can come from any part of the course, not only from parks. The steps stay the same. You need a testable question, data that answers it, a fair sample and a safe plan. What changes is the kind of data you collect.
Heat in a housing estate. A question might be: "Are paved areas of the estate hotter than shaded areas in the afternoon?" People's opinions cannot answer this, so measure air temperature with a thermometer. Hold it at the same height, about 1.5 m, and keep it out of direct sun. Use systematic sampling, for example a reading every 50 m along a route from a car park to a park. Take readings in the same time window, such as 2 to 3 pm, on several days with similar weather. Note the surface and the shade at each point.
Tourist crowding at a heritage site. A question might be: "Is the main entrance more crowded at weekends than on weekdays?" Count people crossing a fixed line for five minutes, every hour, at the same points on a weekday and at the weekend. Counts show how many people came. A short survey of visitors, shopkeepers and residents shows how crowded it felt. Ask the site's managers for permission first, and do not block worshippers or photograph people without asking.
Sense of place along a street. A question might be: "Do older and younger residents feel the same about this street?" Here feelings are the data. Use mental maps, short interviews and an environmental quality survey, where you score features such as noise from 1 (very noisy) to 5 (very quiet). Use stratified sampling so that each age group is included. Photos taken from fixed points help you compare places fairly.
Each place also brings its own risks. Heat can cause heat exhaustion, so drink water, rest in shade and work in pairs. Busy entrances and roads need you to stand clear of traffic and crowds. Whatever the place, check that the method measures what the question asks, that it could be repeated the same way, and that the times and people sampled are fair.
- Heat inquiry
- Thermometer in shade at about 1.5 m, same time window, systematic points.
- Crowding inquiry
- Counts at fixed points and times, plus a survey of how crowded it felt.
- Sense of place inquiry
- Mental maps, interviews and quality scores, stratified by group.
Step by step
Read the question
Does it ask for an amount, a count or a feeling?
Choose the data
Instrument readings, counts, or maps and interviews.
Plan the sample
Where, when, how often, and which groups.
Plan safety and ethics
Risks in that place, permission and consent.
Worked example: Fixing a heat plan
A group plans to compare an open car park and a shaded void deck by asking 20 residents which place feels hotter. That measures opinion. A better plan takes thermometer readings at both places, at 1.5 m and in shade, every 15 minutes from 2 to 3 pm on three dry afternoons.
Watch out for this
A questionnaire is always the best way to collect fieldwork data.
A questionnaire collects views. When the question asks how hot, how many or how fast, measure or count instead.
Check your understanding
Students ask whether a heritage site's entrance is busier at weekends than on weekdays. Which data answers this best?
- People counts at the same points and times on weekdays and weekends.
- Interviews with three tour guides about the site, held one Monday morning.
- Air temperature readings at the entrance, taken every hour for a day.
Show the answer
People counts at the same points and times on weekdays and weekends.
Yes. Counts at matching times measure how busy each day is.