How to research a geography fieldwork investigation

Part of The World Around UsOutdoor detectivesYear 5Year 6

What do you need to think about?

Ayesha and James are researching their fieldwork investigation in the park

To help you find out the best way of carrying out your investigation, you need to think about:

  • what you want to find out
  • what type of questions you will ask
  • what type of data you will collect
Ayesha and James are researching their fieldwork investigation in the park
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Fieldwork questions

To find out people’s views during your fieldwork, you need to think of what types of questions to ask.

A graph showing quantitative data from the closed questions with 8 yes and 4 no answers.

Closed questions

These are where the answer is either yes or no, such as:

  • Do you like to come to the park?
  • Do you think dogs should be allowed in the park?

The data you get from closed questions is called quantitative data because you can count the number, or quantity of people who have answered ‘yes’ and ‘no’. This kind of data is easy to make into a graph.

A tally showing qualitative data with a range of answers to the open question about why people like to come to the park.

Open questions

These are where the answer could be anything, such as:

  • What do you like best about the park?
  • Why do you like to come to the park?
A tally showing qualitative data with a range of answers to the open question about why people like to come to the park.

The data you get from open questions is called qualitative data because it is measured by the quality, not the quantity.

This type of data is hard to make into a graph, unless you make a list of answers to choose from.

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Watch: Researching fieldwork

Play the video to watch Ayesha and James visit a park to research their fieldwork investigation.

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Fieldwork tips

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  1. A group of young people are discussing the types of questions to ask people

    Planning your research

    If you want to present your data in a table or graph you need to think of the types of questions you will ask.

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Watch: What unique features do you have in your area?

What would you choose to show someone if you were giving them a tour? Fieldwork can help you explore some important local features and landmarks but what would yours be?

In this BBC Teach video we meet Zoe from Hamburg, Germany who give us a tour of her unique places.

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Activities

Activity 1: Wildlife fieldwork

A blue and yellow bird on a branch.

What wildlife do you have in and around your school or local park?

Carry out an investigation about the wildlife in a green space near you.

You could:

  • count how many different animals you see
  • record where you see animals eg in a tree, near water
  • listen to any sounds animals make
  • find out more about looking for wildlife in your local space in this Regenerators guide
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Activity 2: Quiz – Researching fieldwork

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Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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