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Just a selection of some excellent 3D earthquake models on display in the S2 class this morning. Good work team #teamwork #geography @GlenrothesHS

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Just a selection of some excellent 3D earthquake models on display in the S2 class this morning. Good work team #teamwork #geography @GlenrothesHS https://t.co/ggzxCAoqlP

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Just a selection of some excellent 3D earthquake models on display in the S2 class this morning. Good work team #teamwork #geography @GlenrothesHS pic.twitter.com/ggzxCAoqlP
— GHS Geography (@GHSGeography1) October 29, 2019

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Just a selection of some excellent 3D earthquake models on display in the S2 class this morning. Good work team #teamwork #geography @GlenrothesHS https://t.co/ggzxCAoqlP

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Just a selection of some excellent 3D earthquake models on display in the S2 class this morning. Good work team #teamwork #geography @GlenrothesHS https://t.co/ggzxCAoqlP

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Just a selection of some excellent 3D earthquake models on display in the S2 class this morning. Good work team #teamwork #geography @GlenrothesHS

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This has taken ages. Yr 7 for this term #geography #knowledgeorganiser following the superb @olicav directions.  Needed STEEP timeline of London. Does it work? Critiques/suggestions welcomed

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This has taken ages. Yr 7 for this term #geography #knowledgeorganiser following the superb @olicav directions.  Needed STEEP timeline of London. Does it work? Critiques/suggestions welcomed https://t.co/m1blyxxnr1

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This has taken ages. Yr 7 for this term #geography #knowledgeorganiser following the superb @olicav directions. Needed STEEP timeline of London. Does it work? Critiques/suggestions welcomed pic.twitter.com/m1blyxxnr1
— GeoJosie 🌍🍪💙 (@Geo_Jo26) October 23, 2019

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This has taken ages. Yr 7 for this term #geography #knowledgeorganiser following the superb @olicav directions.  Needed STEEP timeline of London. Does it work? Critiques/suggestions welcomed https://t.co/m1blyxxnr1

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This has taken ages. Yr 7 for this term #geography #knowledgeorganiser following the superb @olicav directions.  Needed STEEP timeline of London. Does it work? Critiques/suggestions welcomed https://t.co/m1blyxxnr1

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This has taken ages. Yr 7 for this term #geography #knowledgeorganiser following the superb @olicav directions.  Needed STEEP timeline of London. Does it work? Critiques/suggestions welcomed

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Back teaching more @Edexcel_Geog alevel this year. Developing a range of structures to identify knowledge gaps and improve exam skills. #geographyteacher

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Back teaching more @Edexcel_Geog alevel this year. Developing a range of structures to identify knowledge gaps and improve exam skills. #geographyteacher https://t.co/f9Zl8PWrBL

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Back teaching more @Edexcel_Geog alevel this year. Developing a range of structures to identify knowledge gaps and improve exam skills. #geographyteacher pic.twitter.com/f9Zl8PWrBL
— L Crean 🌍 (@MrsLCrean) October 23, 2019

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Back teaching more @Edexcel_Geog alevel this year. Developing a range of structures to identify knowledge gaps and improve exam skills. #geographyteacher https://t.co/f9Zl8PWrBL

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Back teaching more @Edexcel_Geog alevel this year. Developing a range of structures to identify knowledge gaps and improve exam skills. #geographyteacher https://t.co/f9Zl8PWrBL

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Back teaching more @Edexcel_Geog alevel this year. Developing a range of structures to identify knowledge gaps and improve exam skills. #geographyteacher

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A BIG shout out to @Sharkey_History for this excellent resource. Yr11 will find this VERY useful to structure their next 12 mark answer. #OCR #geography

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A BIG shout out to @Sharkey_History for this excellent resource. Yr11 will find this VERY useful to structure their next 12 mark answer. #OCR #geography https://t.co/kzquNVnaq4

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A BIG shout out to @Sharkey_History for this excellent resource. Yr11 will find this VERY useful to structure their next 12 mark answer. #OCR #geography pic.twitter.com/kzquNVnaq4
— Mrs Reed 🌍💙 (@MrsReedGeo) October 23, 2019

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A BIG shout out to @Sharkey_History for this excellent resource. Yr11 will find this VERY useful to structure their next 12 mark answer. #OCR #geography https://t.co/kzquNVnaq4

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A BIG shout out to @Sharkey_History for this excellent resource. Yr11 will find this VERY useful to structure their next 12 mark answer. #OCR #geography https://t.co/kzquNVnaq4

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A BIG shout out to @Sharkey_History for this excellent resource. Yr11 will find this VERY useful to structure their next 12 mark answer. #OCR #geography

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***MODELLING*** I love the I, WE, YOU approach to modelling introduced to me by @Ambition_Inst and @Anna1Nelson. Then I seen @MrThorntonTeach’s A3 sheet and have adapted a Geog version for students to practice @Edexcel_Geog’s EXAMINE Qs ☺️ Copy here https://t.co/J5JI9oCxdM

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***MODELLING*** I love the I, WE, YOU approach to modelling introduced to me by @Ambition_Inst and @Anna1Nelson. Then I seen @MrThorntonTeach’s A3 sheet and have adapted a Geog version for students to practice @Edexcel_Geog’s EXAMINE Qs ☺️ Copy here https://t.co/J5JI9oCxdM https://t.co/UquLcTVyQh

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***MODELLING*** I love the I, WE, YOU approach to modelling introduced to me by @Ambition_Inst and @Anna1Nelson. Then I seen @MrThorntonTeach’s A3 sheet and have adapted a Geog version for students to practice @Edexcel_Geog’s EXAMINE Qs ☺️ Copy here https://t.co/J5JI9oCxdM pic.twitter.com/UquLcTVyQh
— Michael Chiles 🌍 (@m_chiles) October 6, 2019

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***MODELLING*** I love the I, WE, YOU approach to modelling introduced to me by @Ambition_Inst and @Anna1Nelson. Then I seen @MrThorntonTeach’s A3 sheet and have adapted a Geog version for students to practice @Edexcel_Geog’s EXAMINE Qs ☺️ Copy here https://t.co/J5JI9oCxdM https://t.co/UquLcTVyQh

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
***MODELLING*** I love the I, WE, YOU approach to modelling introduced to me by @Ambition_Inst and @Anna1Nelson. Then I seen @MrThorntonTeach’s A3 sheet and have adapted a Geog version for students to practice @Edexcel_Geog’s EXAMINE Qs ☺️ Copy here https://t.co/J5JI9oCxdM https://t.co/UquLcTVyQh

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
***MODELLING*** I love the I, WE, YOU approach to modelling introduced to me by @Ambition_Inst and @Anna1Nelson. Then I seen @MrThorntonTeach’s A3 sheet and have adapted a Geog version for students to practice @Edexcel_Geog’s EXAMINE Qs ☺️ Copy here https://t.co/J5JI9oCxdM

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NEW - Whole Class Feedback is about using an understanding of the learning of your class to plan for progress. Use our new template to try it out in your class✍️🤓🔥

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NEW - Whole Class Feedback is about using an understanding of the learning of your class to plan for progress. Use our new template to try it out in your class✍️🤓🔥 https://t.co/R7x1utSGSz

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NEW - Whole Class Feedback is about using an understanding of the learning of your class to plan for progress. Use our new template to try it out in your class✍️🤓🔥 pic.twitter.com/R7x1utSGSz
— Impact (@ImpactWales) June 2, 2019

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NEW - Whole Class Feedback is about using an understanding of the learning of your class to plan for progress. Use our new template to try it out in your class✍️🤓🔥 https://t.co/R7x1utSGSz

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
NEW - Whole Class Feedback is about using an understanding of the learning of your class to plan for progress. Use our new template to try it out in your class✍️🤓🔥 https://t.co/R7x1utSGSz

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
NEW - Whole Class Feedback is about using an understanding of the learning of your class to plan for progress. Use our new template to try it out in your class✍️🤓🔥

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Yes I know it’s not all about exams & answering Qs HOWEVER: if, like me, a big concern is that students will just completely miss the point of the Q, this simple tool does work well. Pick out all the ‘tricky’ wording of the spec & discuss what knowledge to apply #GeographyTeacher

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Yes I know it’s not all about exams & answering Qs HOWEVER: if, like me, a big concern is that students will just completely miss the point of the Q, this simple tool does work well. Pick out all the ‘tricky’ wording of the spec & discuss what knowledge to apply #GeographyTeacher https://t.co/Nikn8fvVUE

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Yes I know it’s not all about exams & answering Qs HOWEVER: if, like me, a big concern is that students will just completely miss the point of the Q, this simple tool does work well. Pick out all the ‘tricky’ wording of the spec & discuss what knowledge to apply #GeographyTeacher pic.twitter.com/Nikn8fvVUE
— Kate Stockings (@kate_stockings) April 8, 2019

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Yes I know it’s not all about exams & answering Qs HOWEVER: if, like me, a big concern is that students will just completely miss the point of the Q, this simple tool does work well. Pick out all the ‘tricky’ wording of the spec & discuss what knowledge to apply #GeographyTeacher https://t.co/Nikn8fvVUE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Yes I know it’s not all about exams & answering Qs HOWEVER: if, like me, a big concern is that students will just completely miss the point of the Q, this simple tool does work well. Pick out all the ‘tricky’ wording of the spec & discuss what knowledge to apply #GeographyTeacher https://t.co/Nikn8fvVUE

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Yes I know it’s not all about exams & answering Qs HOWEVER: if, like me, a big concern is that students will just completely miss the point of the Q, this simple tool does work well. Pick out all the ‘tricky’ wording of the spec & discuss what knowledge to apply #GeographyTeacher

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Finished? Try one of these… by @misstait_85 – @UKEdResources | UKEdChat

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Description: Printables for a classroom display idea providing extension tasks and review activities.

Created by: @misstait_85

Category: UKEdResources: Whole School - Displays & Wall Resources

You need to Login or Register to bookmark/favorite this content.

- This short article originally appeared in the November 2014 Edition of UKEdMagazine. Click here [...]

Even though teachers up and down the land will be enjoying a well earned rest, [...]

This article has nothing to do with the 1991 VAT tribunal whereby McVitie's allegedly produced [...]

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Finished? Try one of these... by @misstait_85 - @UKEdResources

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Description: Printables for a classroom display idea providing extension tasks and review activities. Created by: @misstait_85 Category: UKEdResources: Whole School - Displays & Wall Resources You need to Login or Register to bookmark/favorite this content. - This short article originally appeared in the November 2014 Edition of UKEdMagazine. Click here [...]

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Look at this brilliant resource to develop questioning from Ged Gast. Super useful 👇👍👍

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Look at this brilliant resource to develop questioning from Ged Gast. Super useful 👇👍👍 https://t.co/A4pPSTb0Wd

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Look at this brilliant resource to develop questioning from Ged Gast. Super useful 👇👍👍 pic.twitter.com/A4pPSTb0Wd
— Impact (@ImpactWales) April 4, 2019

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Look at this brilliant resource to develop questioning from Ged Gast. Super useful 👇👍👍 https://t.co/A4pPSTb0Wd

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Look at this brilliant resource to develop questioning from Ged Gast. Super useful 👇👍👍 https://t.co/A4pPSTb0Wd

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Look at this brilliant resource to develop questioning from Ged Gast. Super useful 👇👍👍

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This worked better than expected: #Riskitforabiscuit to encourage students to contribute, got them thinking about command word, key words and appropriate extended answers. Recommended for any revision!

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This worked better than expected: #Riskitforabiscuit to encourage students to contribute, got them thinking about command word, key words and appropriate extended answers. Recommended for any revision! https://t.co/2vPUG8BiIa

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This worked better than expected: #Riskitforabiscuit to encourage students to contribute, got them thinking about command word, key words and appropriate extended answers. Recommended for any revision! pic.twitter.com/2vPUG8BiIa
— Ben Bishop (@MrBishopGeog) April 2, 2019

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This worked better than expected: #Riskitforabiscuit to encourage students to contribute, got them thinking about command word, key words and appropriate extended answers. Recommended for any revision! https://t.co/2vPUG8BiIa

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
This worked better than expected: #Riskitforabiscuit to encourage students to contribute, got them thinking about command word, key words and appropriate extended answers. Recommended for any revision! https://t.co/2vPUG8BiIa

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This worked better than expected: #Riskitforabiscuit to encourage students to contribute, got them thinking about command word, key words and appropriate extended answers. Recommended for any revision!

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Council report into shopping in plymouth

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Council report into shopping in plymouth

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Plymouth Shopping Study | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK

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Cushman and Wakefield were commissioned to undertake a citywide assessment of retailing within Plymouth and to provide advice on the likely requirement for additional retail facilities in the period up to 2016, with an overview to 2026

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RGS advice on NEA

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You must use these in your drafts or we will not look at them!

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Letter - please sign if not done so already

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Letter - please sign if not done so already

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Short video to show you how to reference as you go in word. Remember every web page/ book / diagram you use should be referenced!

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Copy of spec

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How to write intro

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How to present your Independent investigation

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How to present your Independent investigation

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Short video f essential tips

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How you do ask questions

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What to look out for

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How to work through a project

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Keeping you safe

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The range of ways maps may be used

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Find an idea you like

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What the examiners think of student suggestions

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How to start fieldwork on these topics

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Water & Carbon. This section guides you through a fieldwork investigation into the water cycle and/or the carbon cycle, including in woodlands and peatlands.

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Use this spreadsheet to calculate a Chi Squared. Just enter the data into the grid.

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Guide to how to conduct this work

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Human geography, including the changing socio-economic and demographic characteristics of local places, plus the cultural meanings and representations attached to different places

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Human geography, including the changing socio-economic and demographic characteristics of local places, plus the cultural meanings and representations attached to different places

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Use this spreadsheet to enter your data and it will carry out a spearman's rank

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Names of techniques that might be used

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Use this spreadsheet to enter your data and it will carry out the T test for you. Click on the second tab to find out how to write up the results

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Guide to fieldwork

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Geographical enquiry. This section guides you through the geographical enquiry process from planning to evaluation.

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Another FSC site looking at field methods

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Another FSC site looking at field methods

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All Geography starts with someone going into the field to find out what's there. This section will help you to gather the primary data (data you collect yourself) and secondary data (data collected by someone else) that will support your analysis and conclusions.

Characteristics of urban places

1. Urban drifting

This is a useful way to explore places. The aim is to take a journey through a place and make a record of what you experience.

Try taking a large scale street map of a city and trace out a circle on it. Your task is to walk as close to the edge of the circle as you can. Or create a random walk. You could roll a dice at each road intersection to decide which way to turn.

Exploring Birmingham city centre by tracing circles. The number, size and location of the circles is up to you.

On your journey though the place, make a record of what you see, hear and smell. Stop regularly to make written notes. You could also take photographs or a video recording of the journey.

2. Placechecks

Placechecks is another way to start exploring a place. You can find out much more at the Placechecks website.

Imagine that you are a local resident. For each location that you visit, ask:

What do you like?

What things need protecting?

What don't you like?

What needs changing now?

What problems are getting worse?

The Placechecks walkabout has a list of 21 questions to ask to help explore what makes places special.

3. Townscape survey

Historic England have developed the Historic Area Assessment.

This helps assess the character and significance of historic areas, such as town centres, older suburbs or villages. Here is an example of a completed Historic Area Assessment recording sheet.

Image by Historic England.

4. Clone Town survey

The New Economics Foundation (NEF) have argued that shopping streets in Britain are steadily becoming more similar. These Clone Towns are dominated by a narrow range of chain stores rather than independent shops.

Use a GOAD map and/or a pilot survey of the town to determine the boundaries of the shopping areas of each town. Include all indoor shopping centres.

Visit all streets in the shopping area and categorise every shop into 1 of 25 categories. You can download the form from the NEF website. Carry out this work methodically, making a careful note of when streets have been surveyed.

Retail value

As well as making an overall survey of the degree of cloning, it is possible to look at individual streets of the town centre in more detail. There are likely to be areas of higher and lower retail quality. One way in which this can be done is to choose a study area, then score each shop within the area as follows

This is based on the assumption that large shops like department stores act as 'anchors', attracting many shoppers, while smaller shops have a lower attractive pull. Add all the scores together to calculate the retail value for the area. Worked example

In this example, High Street has a higher retail value (80) than Market Street (39).

Characteristics of rural places

5. Rural character survey

Natural England have classified England's rural landscape into 159 National Character Areas (NCAs).

For example, NCAs in south-west England include Mendip Hills, Isle of Portland and Dorset Heaths. Many county and district councils have subdivided NCAs into smaller units; for example, Devon County Council.

Choose at least 5 survey sites around the location, possibly randomly. Design a booking sheet which will allow you to collect information on both the natural environment and the cultural landscape. An example of a booking sheet is shown below.

Perceptions of place

6. Questionnaires

East London by Field Studies Council.

Questionnaires are useful for finding out more about people's

characteristics (e.g age, sex, place of residence)

behaviour (e.g. usage of the coast)

attitudes (e.g. do they agree with a scheme for managed retreat?)

An effective questionnaire contains a mixture of closed and open questions:

Closed questions: answers are limited to single words, numbers of listed options

e.g. "Do you feel safe in Church Street at 8pm?

Possible answers YES or NO

Closed questions can also be given as a statement. Responses are limited to positions on a scale. There are two ways of presenting statements:

(i) Semantic differential scale - use pairs of words and a scale from negative to positive.

e.g. What do you think of the village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale?

Ugly -2 -1 0 +1 +2 Beautiful

Boring -2 -1 0 +1 +2 Lots to do

Dead -2 -1 0 +1 +2 Vibrant

(ii) Likert scale - ask participants whether they agree or disagree with a series of statements. Use statements with a balance of positive and negative.

e.g. "I do not feel in danger walking around Stokesley in the evening.

Answers: Strongly agree / Agree / Don't know / Disagree / Strongly disagree

(iii) Rating - ask participants to rank a small number of categories from most important to least important.

e.g. What was your main reason your chose to live in this neighbourhood? Please rank the following statements from 1 (most important) to 6 (least important)

Answers: proximity to work, proximity to family and friends, proximity to schools, housing costs, pleasant environment, good place to raise children

Open questions: responses may be long and detailed. Often it is a good idea to word the question so that people could respond with positive answers, negative answers or a mixture of the two. Asking participants to focus on a specific area or time frame may be more effective than just asking "Any other comments?" or "What do you think about this town?" at the end of a questionnaire.

e.g. "Do you think this town will get better or worse in the next 20 years? Why?"

7. Interviews

A properly conducted interview is more than just having a chat with someone. It needs to be carefully planned. You should take detailed notes or, even better, with the particpants' permission make an audio or video recording so that you can type up a transcript of the event.

(a) Interview strategies

Interviews can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured. In a structured interview, each participant is asked the same questions in the same order. In an unstructured interview, you set a focus for the interview with perhaps one or two introductory questions to break the ice, but allow the discussion to develop naturally. A semi-structured interview is a combination of the two approaches, with some pre-prepared questions but with time for discussion.

If you are using the structured or semi-structured route, prepare a typed list of questions beforehand. 6-8 questions is a realistic aim for a 30 minute interview. If you are using the unstructured route, prepare a list of general issues that you would like to cover in the interview. This will help you steer the discussion so that it covers all the issues, as otherwise conversations may drift.

(b) Choosing people to interview

Interviews can also be carried out individually or in groups. They can be carried out face-to-face, over the telephone or online (e.g. by Skype). Focus groups are a type of unstructured or semi-structured interview in which a group of people discuss topics defined by a researcher.

It is impractical to select a representative sample of people to interview. Instead use non-probability sampling, in which the sample is selected through the subjective judgment of the reseacher. There are three techniques:

Convenience sampling: select people who are easy to reach, e.g. interview existing contacts, such as friends and neighbours.

Snowball sampling: select at least two people. Ask each person to help you find more interviewees. Continue finding new people until you have achieved your desired sample size.

Quota sampling: deliberately select a proportionate number of people from each part of the population.

(c) Choosing questions to ask

There are two issues to consider here: what types of questions that you want to ask, and the order in which you want to ask them.

Consider the following types of question:

(i) Descriptive: questions which ask for facts about people, places and experiences, e.g. "How long have you lived in this town?"

(ii) Storytelling: questions that ask participants to put events in order, e.g. "Can you tell me how this town has changed since you first moved here?"

(iii) Opinion: questions that ask about perceptions and feelings, e.g. "Is there enough for teenagers to do in this town in the evening?"

(iv) Stuctural: questions that ask people to reflect on why they hold particular opinions, e.g. "How do you think you came to hold that opinion?"

(v) Contrast: questions that ask people to put themselves in someone else's shoes, e.g "Would you think differently about how safe the town centre if you were male/female/elderly/young?"

Often the hardest part of the interview is the start. Careful ordering of questions will help you build up rapport with the participants and maintain momentum over the course of the whole interview. Think of the interview are structured like a pyramid, with the easy-to-answer descriptive questions near the start and the most abstract questions (like structural and contrast questions) near the end. Ensure a polite finish (e.g. "Thanks for your time. You've given me some really useful information from this interview").

Some interviewees will be more chatty than others. Nudge less chatty interviewees with prompt questions (e.g. "What do you mean by that?" when an answer is unclear or incomplete). Eye contact, smiling and nodding will let the interviewee know that you are interested in what they have to say, and will encourage them to say more - don't yawn at them!

8. Mental mapping

The most likely victim of street crime in Britain is a man aged 16-24 (Office for National Statistics). But the fear of crime is different; it is to do with perception. You could investigate this through questionnaires, or by asking people to construct mental maps.

Mental mapping is a technique which allows you to collect a lot of quantitative data on people's perceptions of space. Mental maps are particularly useful to capturing data on whether people perceive places as threatening, unsafe or otherwise undesirable.

Photocopy a base map of different places in an area, such as 10 contrasting wards in a city. Ask each participant to colour in each place on the following scale. Remind participants that they should be thinking about 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

This place is always unsafe - colour in RED

This place is sometimes unsafe - colour in ORANGE

I don't know this place - colour in BLUE

This place is mostly safe - colour in YELLOW

This place is always safe - colour in GREEN

Lived experience of place

9. Observation studies

Observation is about watching what people do in particular places. Observational data is commonly recorded as notes, sketches or audio/video recordings. It is a very useful tool for finding out more about people's lived experience of places.

An observation study is straightforward to carry out in an area which can be seen in full, such as a town square or small park. But this is not the only way. Sensory mapping and pedestrian counts are also forms of observation studies.

Record the number of users in the site over a time period (perhaps 30 minutes or 1 hour). Then you can do either or both of the following:

First classify them by age, sex and activity (e.g. shopper, delivery worker, dog walker). Use symbols and abbreviations to allow you to record observations quickly. This could be as simple as e.g. 65+ F Sh, for a female shopper aged over 65.

Second use a base map, and attempt to trace the movement across the site made by a sample of the site users.

Broadly there are three ways that you can carry out observation studies:

(i) Naturalistic observation: observing people in their natural environment. For example you could sit on a park bench to observe users in a park, or at a coffee shop with outdoor seating to observe users in a town square. Your aim is to be as unobtrusive as possible, so as not to influence people's behaviour.

(ii) Participant observation: observing behaviour as a participant in a group. For example you could carry out a paper delivery round and watch people's use of space at the same time. If you have a part-time job in a shop or café you could use this as an opportunity to observe people's behaviour around you. If you belong to a sports club or gym, you could use the opportunity to construct an observation study around that (e.g. do people who take part in a running club have a different lived experience of a local place compared to people who do not?)

(iii) Controlled observation: observing behaviour under certain conditions and/or at certain times. You could, for example, decide only to observe certain types of behaviour in a park (such as dog walking) and ignore other behaviours. Or you could observe at specific times of day (e.g. Saturday morning 9-12). All controls on the observation need to be justified.

Pedestrian surveys are a type of observation study.

Think about which day of the week to count pedestrians. Pedestrian numbers are likely to be higher on a Saturday or Sunday then during the week, during school holidays, during dry weather and if there is a popular event happening in the city centre

Time of day is also important. Pedestrian numbers are likely to be higher during "rush hours" (like 8am-9am) or shift changes and during office lunchtime. Around 11am and 2.30pm are often good times to choose.

You need at least 20-25 survey points. Choose survey points across the city centre. If you are working in groups, each group can walk different routes across the city centre.

This is up to you, but make sure that you survey in the same way each time. Think about

How long to count pedestrians for - 2 minutes is enough. If your survey points are close together (perhaps every 100 metres), you might be able to do 3 or 4 pedestrian counts in 10 minutes.

Whether to count people on one side of the road or both sides of the road - if you are working in groups, different members of the group could count different sides of the road, with someone else holding a stopwatch.

11. Sensory mapping

Sensory mapping is a type of observation study. It a great way to get a handle people's lived experience of places. What do they see? What do they hear? What do they smell? What do they feel about particular places?

Here are two ideas that you could consider:

(a) Mapping smell and smellscapes - Smelly Maps is a project to classify the smell of different urban areas, both good and bad. The Aroma Wheel below ( link to pdf) was developed for cities in the USA, but could be simplified and adapted to both urban and rural areas.

(b) Mapping sound and soundscapes

Sound levels (i.e. loudness) can be measured using a decibel meter. Smartphone noise meter apps are also available.

At the same tide as loudness is measured, you can also record the sources of noise if you can identify them (e.g. traffic - engine noise, gear changes, rolling contact with road surfaces; natural sounds like birdsong and wind) and the frequency of each sound. One way to standardise this method is to spend 2 minutes standing still at each site and noting the loudness, direction, distance and source of each noise that you hear.

Secondary data sources

1. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
Neighbourhood Statistics 2015 English IMD Explorer
2. Natural landscape

3. Cultural landscape

Settlement patterns and field shapes can be seen on a 1:25000 OS map

Victoria County History victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk

Genuki: a gateway to access historic information for most small settlements in England www.genuki.org.uk

4. Historic townscapes

Archives of the Extensive Urban Surveys project http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/EUS/

England-wide programme of surveys into the archeology, historic buildings and townscapes of towns and cities. Can be searched by county. Some counties have not yet been completed.

5. Historic landscapes

Archives of the Historic Landscape Characterisation project
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/EUS/
England-wide programme of surveys into the landscapes of historic places, both rural and urban. Can be searched by county or smaller area. For example, the Black Country Historic Landscape Characterisation includes text, maps and GIS for the historic urban and industrial landscapes of Woleverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley. Some counties have not yet been completed.

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All Geography starts with someone going into the field to find out what's there. This section will help you to gather the primary data (data you collect yourself) and secondary data (data collected by someone else) that will support your analysis and conclusions. This is a useful way to explore places.

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How to measure derelict shops on the high street

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Choosing a fieldwork location

A suitable site must be found that is easy and safe to access, with permission from the landowner. Ideally, the site will display all the seral stages of sand dune succession within a relatively small area. Many sand dune ecosystems are fragile habitats, please be mindful of this when visiting the site(s).

Harlech sand dunes, near Rhyd-y-creuau Field Centre in North Wales provide a perfect opportunity to experience the entire sand dune ecosystem in a compact, easy to access area.

Data collection

Safety

Care should be taken when working near the seashore.

Do not touch flotsam and jetsam on the beach or at the strandline

Wear long sleeves and trousers, as sand dune vegetation such as marram grass can be prickly or sharp

Beware of flying sand particles in the eye especially when it is windy

Wear sturdy footwear and beware of rabbit holes and other uneven ground

Do not enter the sea

Always check tide times

Procedure

Carry out a pilot survey to identify a section of dunes where there are sand dunes running at least 300 metres from the top of the beach inland.

Carry out an interrupted belt transectfrom strand line inland. You can use a frame quadrat or a point quadrat. This should be done at regular intervals, perhaps every 30 metres. Another approach is when you notice a difference in abiotic factors such as wind speed, humidity or temperature, take an opportunistic or stratified sample. It's also possible to select sample sites from the ten locations highlighted in the dune profile below. At each site, vegetation data should be collected to allow for the calculation of percentage cover.

Use ranging poles and a clinometer to collect slope profile data. Take readings for every significant break of slope.

Collect abiotic measurements such as soil and micro climate data at regular intervals. This should ideally be at the same time and locations as you collect vegetation data.

Vegetation characteristics

Random sampling

Random sampling is used to select a sample that is unbiased. Within each area, every part of the surface must have an equal chance of being chosen. Random sampling with quadrats is used to examine differences between contrasting habitats within the sand dune system. There are many possible questions that could be investigated in this way.

In each habitat you are investigating, mark out a 10m x 10m square on the ground by laying one tape measure 10m lengthways and a second tape measure 10m at right angles to the first. Use a random number table (or random number generator on a calculator) to select numbers from 1-10. Each pair of random numbers can be used as x and y co-ordinates, using the metre interval markings oneach tape measure. Use these to locate the lower left hand corner of a frame quadrat. Take at least 10 quadrat samples in each area.

Systematic sampling

Systematic sampling is used where the study area includes an environmental gradient. A transect is used to sample systematically along the environmental gradient.

(a) Continuous transect

In a continuous transect, you record vegetation along the whole length of the transect line. In practice, this can be achieved by turning over a frame quadrat on the side perpendicular to the transect line as soon as you have finished recording at each point. For a shorter distance, such as an investigation into how vegetation changes across a single dune slack, a continuous transect could be useful. But a typical 300m transect, perhaps sampled with a 1m ² quadrat, would require many more samples than you could realistically take.

(b) Interrupted transect

Part of an interrupted belt transect. Samples were taken at points a, b, c and d.

In an interrupted transect you record data from quadrats placed at intervals along the line. Quadrat sampling points (or 'stations') can be regularly spaced along the line (perhaps every 30m). Or you can choose to place stations at specific points of interest along the transect line. One quadrat per station is not enough. Instead take at least 3-5 quadrat readings at each station. You could do this by placing a frame quadrats nex to the transect line, then turning the quadrat over on its side to take the next quadrat reading. You will collect data across a broader belt of the dunes; a technique known as an interrupted belt transect.

For a comparison of ground vegetation in two areas, construct a random sampling strategy. You need to justify your choice of sampling locations. Use quadrats (either frame or point quadrats) in each sampling location. There is always a minimum number of samples that must be taken if you are performing statistical tests on your results.

Recording vegetation data

(a) Species lists

The simplest data that you can collect is a species list. This is a record of the names of each plant species that are present. lt is also known as presence /absence data. A species list provides no information about how abundant each species is. For example, a foredune ridge might be almost wholly covered in clumps of marram grass,with a few individual sea holly plants. But the species list would only record the presence of the two species.

(b) ACFOR scale

The ACFOR scale can be used to collect data on the abundance of each species

If you are comparing more than one site, some plants could be totally absent in some samples, so can be recorded as N for NONE. Data collected on the ACFOR scale is often biased. Many investigators over-estimate conspicuous plants (especially those in flower) and under-estimate inconspicuous plants. More reliable data will come from quantitative methods.

(a) Frame quadrats

This is a square frame which is used to outline a sample area. The simplest way to collect data using a frame quadrat is to make a species list for each quadrat. This allows you to calculate the percentage frequency of each species for the whole sample area. Percentage frequency is the probability that a species will be found within a single quadrat.

For example, an investigation was made into the difference in vegetation between a grazed and an ungrazed section of the fixed dunes. A random sample using 30 frame quadrats is taken in each area. In the grazed area, bird's-foot trefoil was present in 18 of the 30 quadrats; in the ungrazed area, bird's-foot trefoil was present in 6 of the 30 quadrats.

`"% frequency in ungrazed area" = 18 / 30 xx 100 = 60%`

`"% frequency in grazed area" = 6 / 30 xx 100 = 20%`

The number of quadrat samples taken affects the reliability of the results. The number must be large enough to minimise the effect of anomalies, but not too large that it cannot realistically be carried out in the time available. lt must also be sufficient for any statistical tests you are using. In practice, 10 quadrat samples is the absolute minimum for each sample area.

lt is often useful to know what amount of each species is present. There are two ways of describing the amount of each species within a frame quadrat: percentage cover and local frequency. Percentage cover is faster but is more subjective. Simply estimate what percentage of the area enclosed by the quadrat is occupied by each species. One drawback of this method is that plants in flower tend to be over-estimated while low-growing plants are under-estimated. Local frequency is easiest to measure if you have a gridded quadrat of 10 x 10 squares. For each species, count the number of squares which are at least half-occupied. The final figure (which will vary between 1 and 100) is the local frequency. This method is more time consuming than estimating percentage cover, but the results should be more accurate, as there is less risk of over-estimating some plants and under-estimating others.

(b) Point quadrats

A point quadrat is a frame shaped like a T. The bar of the T has ten holes in it, and to sample vegetation a long pin much like a knitting needle is stuck through each hole. The different plants that the pin 'hits' as it is pushed towards the ground are identified and counted.

To collect data on abundance, count the first hit made by the pin on each different plant. Count the first hit only.

Local frequency can be calculated for each species.
% freq = (total number of hits of a species x 100) / total number of pin drops

For example, if at a single station sea holly is hit 2 times out of 10 pin drops

`"% freq" = 2/10 xx 100 = 20`

The % frequency of sea holly is 20%

If you have classified each species into communities (e.g. pioneers, mobile sand dunes, dune slack plants, etc.) you can use point quadrat data to calculate percentage composition. This shows what percentage of plants at each station are from each community.

`"% composition" = ("% frequency of a community" xx 100) / "% frequency of all communities"`

For example, if at a single station, the % frequency for all pioneers is 40 and the % frequency for all communities is 80.

`"% composition" = 40/80 xx 100 = 50`

Pioneers make up 50% of all plants found at that station.

Shape of sand dunes

To measure the angle of a slope between two points, you need two or three people.

1. Identify a slope unit between two breaks of slope. Measure this distance.

2. Person A stands at the bottom of the slope with the clinometer resting on top of a ranging pole.

3. Person 8 holds a second ranging pole at the top of the slope.

4. Person A sights the clinometer at the top of the ranging pole held by 8 and reads off the slope angle. The distance and angle can then be recorded.

Angles going uphill are recorded as positive (+) angles and downhill as negative (-) ones. Measuring the angle of a slope at regular intervals is more straightforward, but it tends to hide the small variations in slope which can be important on sand dunes.

Measuring from break of slope to break of slope means that you have to estimate where the slope angles change. This means that you normally end up taking more slope readings, but the profile that you draw is more accurate.

Soil characteristics

Some of the most useful abiotic factors to record are soil characteristics.

Remove vegetation with a trowel. Take a small sample of soil (a quarter of a trowel full is plenty) from 15cm below the surface of the vegetation and seal it in a polythene bag straight away to prevent it from drying out. Put a label marked in pencil inside the bag to show the location and time. Plastic 35mm film pots (becoming much rarer now that digital cameras are widely used) are a useful alternative to polythene bags.

Collecting soil samples by digging holes is destructive and you must have permission from the landowner before you start. Only remove a small amount from each place - not a trowel-load. Replace any vegetation you have removed. Wash your hands thoroughly after carrying out soils work.

Here are some of the most useful soil factors that you can measure:

1. Soil pH

A chemical pH test can be carried out in the field, or on the soil samples in the lab.

1. Put 1 cm of soil into a test tube

2. Add 1 cm of barium sulphate to the test tube (this attaches to fine particles and makes them sink leaving a clear layer above it)

3. Add enough distilled water to bring the level half way to the top of the test tube

4. Add two pipettes full of indicator solution

5. Seal the test tube with a rubber bung and shake well (make sure that the contents are mixed thoroughly)

6. Allow the test tube to stand until the soil has settled out leaving a coloured solution

7. Hold the tube next to the colour chart and decide which pH colour it most closely matches.

8. Dispose of the soil in the bin.

2. Soil texture

The soil texture is determined by the proportion of the soil made up of sand, silt and clay. A quick way of judging soil texture in the field is outlined in the OPAL Soil Survey (pdf).

3. Soil infiltration rate

You will need

container of water (keep this constant between experiments - 4 litres is enough)

30 cm ruler

metal / plastic tube (to be the 'infitration tube')

stopwatch

block of wood

mallet

at least 2 people - one to pour in water, the other to operate the stopwatch and take readings

Bang the infiltration tube into the ground until it forms a seal (using the wood and mallet to bang it in evenly and avoid affecting the results by stamping on the area of land being tested).

One person fills the infiltration tube to a standardised level (e.g. 15cm). The other starts the stopwatch, and then record the water level every 30 seconds. To maintain water pressure, person 1 should top up the infiltration tube if their water level falls below a certain point (e.g. 10cm). Person 2 should make a note of when this is done, so that it can be taken it into account when they are calculating their infiltration rate.

4. Soil moisture content

Soil water content is measured by weighing the fresh soil sample, drying the sample, then weighing the dry soil. The difference between the two figures is the soil moisture content. It can be expressed as a percentage of the mass of the fresh soil sample.

The most effective way to dry the soil sample is to use an oven (a microwave oven will do), but if this is not available then you could leave the soil sample to dry overnight.

Find the mass of a heat resistant crucible.

Half fill the crucible with soil from the soil sample and then weigh it again.

Place the crucible in an oven at a temperature just above the boiling point of water (ideally around 105°C) until it is dry.

You can tell when it is completely dry by weighing the crucible and soil, returning it to the oven for 10 minutes and weighing again and so on, until there is no change in weight after 10 minutes. Don't be tempted to turn the oven up to make the drying take place more quickly. You will only begin to burn off the humus in the soil and won't then be able to find out either the weight or humus content accurately. Now record the weight of the crucible and dry soil. Find the difference between the dried soil and the fresh soil, and use this to calculate the % moisture content of the fresh soil.

5. Humus content

Soil humus content is measured by weighing a dry soil sample, burning the humus in the soil, then weighing the soil left. The difference between the two figures is the humus content, which can be expressed as a percentage of the mass of fresh soil sample.

It is usual to measure for soil humus content after you have measured for moisture content, so that you have figures for the mass of fresh soil and also samples of dry soil.

The most effective way to burn off the humus is to use a furnace that is capable of reaching a temperature of 550°C. If this is not available, a Bunsen burner can be used instead.

If using a furnace, place the crucible and dry soil into a furnace at 550°C for 15-30 minutes, until all the humus has been burnt off.

Or if using a Bunsen burner Using a tripod and gauze sheet, heat the soil sample in a crucible above a full-flame Bunsen burner for 30 minutes to 2 hours, until all the humus has been burnt off.

Record the weight of the crucible and soil and calculate the percentage of humus in the soil. The mass of dry soil, rather than the mass of wet soil, is used to calculate the percentage humus content. Using dry soil mass allows you to compare soil samples taken on different days.

Microclimate data

Microclimate data (including soil temperature, humidity and light levels) can be used to support investigations into how vegetation changes across a dune system. If carried out carefully, your results will provide a snapshot of the environmental stresses experienced by plants. Ideally all measurements should be made at the same time of day, with the same technique at each site.

Temperature

A simple mercury thermometer can be used. Air and soil temperature can all be measured.

It is sometimes useful to find the temperature range over a particular time period, such as 24 hours. Maximum/minimum thermometers are widely available. Try as much as you can to standardise the temperature reading between sample sites.

Wind speed

An anemometer will measure wind speed directly. Take readings at the same height above the ground each time.

Humidity

The most practical way of measuring humidity in woodland is a hand-held whirling hygrometer. This piece of equipment compares the temperatures recorded by wet and dry thermometer bulbs. The bulb surrounded by a wet fabric sleeve usually shows a lower temperature than the other because of the cooling effect of evaporation. The bigger the difference recorded by the two bulbs, the lower the relative humidity. There are standard tables for the conversion.

Light intensity

Light levels at ground level often vary throughout the wood so a large number of readings need to be taken at fixed points.

Light conditions constantly change e.g. with seasons, the time of day and changes in cloud cover. If two areas being compared readings must be taken simultaneously.

Different light meters vary in what they measure and their accuracy. Matched calibrated meters should always be used.

Because of these difficulties it is often simpler and more meaningful to obtain an indirect measure of how much light might reach the ground community (e.g. by assessing the amount of open sky which can be seen through the canopy at a number of fixed points, or by recording whether the ground at these points is in shade or sun at set time intervals during the day).

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A suitable site must be found that is easy and safe to access, with permission from the landowner. Ideally, the site will display all the seral stages of sand dune succession within a relatively small area. Many sand dune ecosystems are fragile habitats, please be mindful of this when visiting the site(s).

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Suggestions to help you find a suitable title

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Good site looking at a range of urban methods

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Good site looking at a range of urban methods

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All Geography starts with someone going into the field to find out what's there. This section will help you to gather the primary data (data you collect yourself) and secondary data (data collected by someone else) that will support your analysis and conclusions.

Economic inequalities

1. Shopping basket survey

A shopping basket survey compares the prices of a small number of groceries in several shops.

These surveys are useful when comparing the price of products available in shops in particular areas. They are also useful when comparing different rural settlements, contrasting outlying villages with a nearby town, or investigating the phenomenon of "food deserts" in some inner cities.

You could combine the shopping basket survey data with questionnaire data (e.g. access to a car, shop use such as use of online shopping, eating habits such as fruit and vegatable intake) plus secondary data like deprivation and travel distances derived from a map.

2. Clone Town survey

The New Economics Foundation (NEF) have argued that shopping streets in Britain are steadily becoming more similar. These Clone Towns are dominated by a narrow range of chain stores rather than independent shops.

Park Street. Walsall by Harry Pope / CC BY.

Use a GOAD map and/or a pilot survey of the town to determine the boundaries of the shopping areas of each town. Include all indoor shopping centres.

Visit all streets in the shopping area and categorise every shop into 1 of 25 categories. You can download the form from the NEF website. Carry out this work methodically, making a careful note of when streets have been surveyed.

3. Retail value

As well as making an overall survey of the degree of cloning, it is possible to look at individual streets of the town centre in more detail. There are likely to be areas of higher and lower retail quality. One way in which this can be done is to choose a study area, then score each shop within the area as follows

This is based on the assumption that large shops like department stores act as 'anchors', attracting many shoppers, while smaller shops have a lower attractive pull.

Add all the scores together to calculate the retail value for the area.

Worked example

In this example, High Street has a higher retail value (80) than Market Street (39).

4. Questionnaires

Questionnaires are useful for finding out more about people's

characteristics (e.g age, sex, place of residence)

behaviour (e.g. usage of the coast)

attitudes (e.g. do they agree with a scheme for managed retreat?)

An effective questionnaire contains a mixture of closed and open questions:

Closed questions: answers are limited to single words, numbers of listed options

e.g. "Do you feel safe in Church Street at 8pm?

Possible answers YES or NO

Closed questions can also be given as a statement. Responses are limited to positions on a scale. There are two ways of presenting statements:

(i) Semantic differential scale - use pairs of words and a scale from negative to positive.

e.g. What do you think of the village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale?

Ugly -2 -1 0 +1 +2 Beautiful

Boring -2 -1 0 +1 +2 Lots to do

Dead -2 -1 0 +1 +2 Vibrant

(ii) Likert scale - ask participants whether they agree or disagree with a series of statements. Use statements with a balance of positive and negative.

e.g. "I do not feel in danger walking around Stokesley in the evening.

Answers: Strongly agree / Agree / Don't know / Disagree / Strongly disagree

(iii) Rating - ask participants to rank a small number of categories from most important to least important.

e.g. What was your main reason you chose to live in this neighbourhood? Please rank the following statements from 1 (most important) to 6 (least important)

Answers: proximity to work, proximity to family and friends, proximity to schools, housing costs, pleasant environment, good place to raise children

Open questions: responses may be long and detailed. Often it is a good idea to word the question so that people could respond with positive answers, negative answers or a mixture of the two. Asking participants to focus on a specific area or time frame may be more effective than just asking "Any other comments?" or "What do you think about this town?" at the end of a questionnaire.

e.g. "Do you think this town will get better or worse in the next 20 years? Why?"

Pedestrian surveys are a type of observation study.

Heavy pedestrian footfall. Piccadilly Circus by Manhattan Research / CC BY.

Think about the which day of the week to count pedestrians. Pedestrian numbers are likely to be higher on a Saturday or Sunday then during the week, during school holidays, during dry weather and if there is a popular event happening in the city centre

Time of day is also important. Pedestrian numbers are likely to be higher during "rush hours" (like 8am-9am) or shift changes and during office lunchtime. Around 11am and 2.30pm are often good times to choose.

You need at least 20-25 survey points. Choose survey points across the city centre. If you are working in groups, each group can walk different routes across the city centre.

This is up to you, but make sure that you survey in the same way each time. Think about

How long to count pedestrians for - 2 minutes is enough. If your survey points are close together (perhaps every 100 metres), you might be able to do 3 or 4 pedestrian counts in 10 minutes.

Whether to count people on one side of the road or both sides of the road - if you are working in groups, different members of the group could count different sides of the road, with someone else holding a stopwatch.

Social inequalities

6. Accessibility survey

Construct a survey to help you collect data on how easy it is for people with limited mobility (such as wheelchair users, elderly people and visually impaired people) to move around the built environment.

Uneven pavement, parked car, puddle. Crown Street, Ipswich by Peter Miller / CC BY.

The example below was designed to be used for 10 sites at regular intervals along a single street. At each sample site, record the condition of the pavement on one side of the street and the condition of the five nearest doorways.

7. Crime surveys

There are several aspects of crime that you can investigate in the field.

(a) Index of burglaribility

Construct a survey to help you collect data on how susceptible a house of business premises is to be burglary. Here is an example that you may wish to adapt to your study area.

(b) Vandalism survey

Construct a survey to help you collect data on vandalism. Consider

Graffiti

Scratched, burnt and smashed glass (e.g. bus shelters)

Litter and fly-tipping

Damage to street furniture (like seats)

Damage to trees and plants

Distribution could be measured on the ACFOR scale: abundant, common, frequent, occasional, rare. Here is an example of a graffiti scale you could adapt.

(c) Mental mapping: fear of crime

The most likely victim of street crime in Britain is a man aged 16-24 (Office for National Statistics). But the fear of crime is different; it is to do with perception. You could investigate this through questionnaires, or by asking people to construct mental maps.

Mental mapping is a technique which allows you to collect a lot of quantitative data on people's perceptions of space. Mental maps are particularly useful to capturing data on whether people perceive places as threatening, unsafe or otherwise undesirable.

Photocopy a base map of different places in an area, such as 10 contrasting wards in a city. Ask each participant to colour in each place on the following scale. Remind participants that they should be thinking about 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

This place is always unsafe - colour in RED

This place is sometimes unsafe - colour in ORANGE

I don't know this place - colour in BLUE

This place is mostly safe - colour in YELLOW

This place is always safe - colour in GREEN

Results can be summarised by scoring red as -2, orange as -1, blue as 0, yellow as 1 and green as 2. Find the mean score for all participants and present the aggregated results as a chloropleth map. You could also put together separate maps showing the results for contrasting groups, such as male and female.

8. Bus Index

A lack of transport can be a major problem for people who do not have access to a car. You can measure this problem by calculating the Bus Coverage Index for each village.

Bus Coverage Index = (journey time from village A to town B in minutes) ÷ (number of buses between village A and town B in both directions per weekday)

The lower the Bus Coverage Index, the greater the accessibility.

Worked example

Hanwood and Snailbeach are both villages near Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury contains a sixth-form college. How easy is it to get from Hanwood or Snailbeach to the college in Shrewsbury?

Hanwood It takes 19 minutes to travel from Hanwood to Shrewsbury and there are 12 buses each way every day. Bus Coverage Index = 19 ÷ 12 = 1.58 Snailbeach It takes 38 minutes to travel from Snailbeach to Shrewsbury and there are 8 buses each way every day. Bus Coverage Index = 38 ÷ 8 = 4.75

This works best where there is only one large town nearby with shops and services. You can use bus timetables in each village to find out the journey time to the nearest town and how many buses there are each day. Alternatively use Traveline

Environmental inequalities

9. Environmental quality assessment

What are the streets like in each area? Construct a survey to measure environmental quality in each area contrasting area. Here is an example that you could adapt to your city.

A written description and/or photographs may help you be consistent in giving scores. One way you could do for scoring 'litter' this is shown below

0 = no litter visible

+ = no more than 10 small items visible, all recent

++ = large amount of recent litter items

+++ = accumulation of large items, some items have clearly be in situ for months

10. Building decay survey

You can also measure the condition of housing. Make sure that you sample houses fairly. You might, for example, choose to sample two streets picked at random, and then sample house numbers 5, 15 and 25 on each street.

Secondary data sources

1. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

The Index of Multiple Deprivation can be used as secondary data to help you investigate quality of life in urban and rural areas. Thm map od IMD in Taunton shows that some parts of Taunton are within the 10% most deprived parts of England. Other parts of Taunton are within the 10% least deprived parts of England.

IMD 2015, Taunton by Open Database Licence.

England has been divided into 32,844 small areas called Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs). THE IMD is calculated by combining scores for 7 different "domains":

The scoring is weighted so that income and employment contribute more to the overall score than the other "domains". Each LSOA is given a rank for deprivation.

IMD has been calculated in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2015, so you could use historic IMD data to track changes in inequality over time.

2. Accessibility by road

From an Ordnance Survey map, make a raw count of the number of A roads, number of B roads and number of other roads linking the village to other places. If, for example, an A road passes through the village, count it as two roads - since it links two sets of places.

Draw a circle with a 0.5km radius around the centre of each village. As each road bisects circle allocate points as follows: A-roads 10 points, B-roads 5 points and other roads 1 point. Sum the points for each village.

A second consideration is the time that it takes to travel along different types of road. It is fair to assume that a journey along a dual carriageway will be faster than a journey of the same length along a winding single-track country lane. There are several route planners available (e.g. AA Route Planner) which will calculate the journey time for you.

3. Crime data

Deprivation data:

4. Health data

Interactive map by Public Health England

5. House prices

6. Education data

7. Jobs data

8. Broadband availability

9. Environment data
What's in your backyard? (Environment Agency)

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All Geography starts with someone going into the field to find out what's there. This section will help you to gather the primary data (data you collect yourself) and secondary data (data collected by someone else) that will support your analysis and conclusions.

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The difference between correlation and causation

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The difference between correlation and causation

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Helping to make sense of yopur results

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Can you find something here that interests you?

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A guide how to use and find key data

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Different graphs for different data

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We hold a range of different types of census data, such as:

We also hold data related to the census, such as Experian data and deprivation data.

All of the aggregate data and most of the flow and boundary data are available to anyone under the Open Government Licence. Census microdata has different access conditions depending on the dataset.

We do not hold the census longitudinal data. However, these can be found at:

England and Wales (ONS LS): CeLSIUS

Scotland (SLS): SLS-DSU

Northern Ireland (NILS): NILS-RSU

information on all three census longitudinal studies at CALLS Hub

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We hold a range of different types of census data, such as: We also hold data related to the census, such as Experian data and deprivation data. All of the aggregate data and most of the flow and boundary data are available to anyone under the Open Government Licence.

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Video of data collection

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How marks are allocated

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Guide from RGS

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Advice on how to tabulate results - you will have to rotate pdf

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How to plot field data e.g. footfall on Arcgis

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How to plot field data e.g. footfall on Arcgis

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By Royal Geographical Society

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Video with some ideas of what to collect and how to do it

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How to classify data for presentation - pdf to rotate

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How to show sphere of influence on ArcGis 

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How to show sphere of influence on ArcGis 

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Quick video to show you how to calculate sphere of influence using ArcGIS online

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How to show spehere of influence on arcgis online

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Some really good stuff about shopping

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Guide to how it can be conducted

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Coasts. This section guides you through a fieldwork investigation into coastal processes, landforms and management.

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How martks are allocated

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How to use sound in fieldwork

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A fieldwork technique

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How to use them to display data - rotate pdf

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This site lets you see how popular a search on google has been. Try using words like oxford Westgate or oxford. Beware of a terrorist incident in Westgate Kenya though!

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Oxford City Council planning application website for Westgate

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13/02557/OUT | Demolition of southern part of Westgate Centre, 1-14 Abbey Place and multi-storey car park, retention of library, refurbishment of remainder of the existing Westgate Centre and construction of a retail-led mixed use development together providing A1 (retail), A2 (finance and professional services) and/or A3 (restaurants and cafes) and/or A4 (public house, etc.) and/or A5 (hot food takeaways) uses, C3 (residential) use and D2 (assembly and leisure) uses, public toilets, associated car and cycle parking, shopmobility facility, servicing and access arrangements together with alterations to the public highway (Amended plans and further information) | Westgate Centre And Adjacent Land Encompassing The Existing Westgate Centre And Land Bounded By Thames St, Castle Mill Stream, Abbey Place, Norfolk St, Castle St, Bonn Square, St Ebbes St, Turn Again Lane And Old Greyfriars St. OX1 1NX

You can select up to 25 documents to download in one archive file at a time.

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13/02557/OUT | Demolition of southern part of Westgate Centre, 1-14 Abbey Place and multi-storey car park, retention of library, refurbishment of remainder of the existing Westgate Centre and construction of a retail-led mixed use development together providing A1 (retail), A2 (finance and professional services) and/or A3 (restaurants and cafes) and/or A4 (public house, etc.) and/or A5 (hot food takeaways) uses, C3 (residential) use and D2 (assembly and leisure) uses, public toilets, associated car and cycle parking, shopmobility facility, servicing and access arrangements together with alterations to the public highway (Amended plans and further information) | Westgate Centre And Adjacent Land Encompassing The Existing Westgate Centre And Land Bounded By Thames St, Castle Mill Stream, Abbey Place, Norfolk St, Castle St, Bonn Square, St Ebbes St, Turn Again Lane And Old Greyfriars St. OX1 1NX

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13/02557/OUT | Demolition of southern part of Westgate Centre, 1-14 Abbey Place and multi-storey car park, retention of library, refurbishment of remainder of the existing Westgate Centre and construction of a retail-led mixed use development together providing A1 (retail), A2 (finance and professional services) and/or A3 (restaurants and cafes) and/or A4 (public house, etc.)

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Interactive GIS showing coastal landuse

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Example 2

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How can your phone help?

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How to use pictures in fieldwork

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making sure you do them properly

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Advice and guidance

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From planning site above

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Interactive map for contextual information

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As part of our ongoing programme of application upgrades and redevelopment, the Geology of Britain map viewer was retired on 1 August 2022.
If you are looking for an interactive geological map of Great Britain then you may be interested in one of our newer online map viewers listed below:

BGS Geology Viewer is a lightweight viewer designed to provide geology enthusiasts and the general public with bedrock and superficial geology maps of Great Britain

BGS GeoIndex, which is recommended for professional users and provides access to a wide range of data, including both borehole scans, fault information and interactive 3D models

For more information about the retirement of the Geology of Britain viewer please see our FAQ section below

Geology of Britain update FAQs

The Geology of Britain map viewer was retired on 1 August 2022 and is no longer available. This includes both the classic 2D Geology of Britain and the 3D version.

Why was the Geology of Britain map viewer retired?

Is there an alternative to the Geology of Britain viewer?

Where can I download the 3D cross sections?

Where can I view earthquakes data?

Where can I view borehole data?

If you have any comments or questions about this change that is not covered by this page, please contact the BGS Enquiries team.

What was the Geology of Britain viewer?

The Geology of Britain viewer was a simple tool, aimed at the general public, which allowed users to explore the geology of Great Britain.

Terms of use

These data are delivered under the terms of the Open Government Licence, subject to the following acknowledgement accompanying the reproduced BGS materials: "Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI [year]". Contact us if you create something new and innovative that could benefit others.

We encourage users to use OpenGeoscience material with their own data.

The BGS provides no warranty as to the quality, accuracy or completeness of this free map data or the medium on which it is supplied. This includes any warranty as to the continued provision of material or that the material taken from this site is compatible with your computer system and/or any other data with which the material is to be used.

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Geology of Britain viewer - British Geological Survey

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The Geology of Britain viewer has been designed to help the general public explore the local geology around where they live.

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How marks are allocated

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Ways to map the landuse in your study area

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how to make them more interestin

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Add postcodes to get a crime map