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New
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Year 7

Fieldwork: Planning and collecting survey data

I can complete an environmental quality survey on my school site.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

Fieldwork: Planning and collecting survey data

I can complete an environmental quality survey on my school site.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Fieldwork enquiries allow geographers to investigate a place or changes over space.
  2. Geographical enquiry includes asking questions, collecting data, presenting data, analysing, conclusions and evaluation.
  3. Key questions or hypotheses can be used to frame a geographical enquiry.
  4. Surveys can help geographers to find interesting patterns of data at their field site.

Keywords

  • Enquiry - An enquiry is an investigation of a geographical feature or issue.

  • Fieldwork - Fieldwork is investigating the outdoors using geographical tools and thinking to gather information or data.

  • Data collection - Data collection is when you collect the data for your investigation using a range of methods.

  • Hypothesis - A hypothesis is a statement which can be tested.

  • Environmental quality survey - An environmental quality survey is a type of survey which assesses different factors that affect the environment in one location such as cleanliness and green space.

Common misconception

Fieldwork must take place in an unfamiliar location.

While it can be exciting to do fieldwork in a new place, fieldwork actually can take place anywhere.


To help you plan your year 7 geography lesson on: Fieldwork: Planning and collecting survey data, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

An environmental quality survey gives students an excellent opportunity to work collaboratively and to listen to the opinions of others before reaching a decision on a score.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

A clipboard or something to lean on. A map of the school grounds.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - outdoor learning
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the first step in planning a fieldwork study?
Collect data
Correct answer: Decide on a research question
Write the conclusion
Analyse the results
Q2.
Which of these is not a type of data you might collect during fieldwork?
Quantitative data (like measurements)
Qualitative data (like descriptions)
Correct answer: Weather forecasts
Q3.
Why is it important to have a clear research question before starting fieldwork?
Correct answer: It helps you stay focused and decide what data to collect
It makes the report longer
It’s not important, as you can figure it out later
Q4.
Which of the following tools might you use to collect data on temperature during fieldwork?
Ruler
Correct answer: Thermometer
Compass
Stopwatch
Q5.
Which of these is a good way to make sure your data is reliable?
Only take one measurement
Correct answer: Record data at different times of the day
Don’t double-check your results
Collect data only from one person
Q6.
Why is fieldwork important in geography?
It helps us learn about places through textbooks only
Correct answer: It allows us to gather real-world data to understand how the environment works
It makes geography lessons longer
It only helps geographers study cities

4 Questions

Q1.
Where can you complete fieldwork?
only in unfamiliar locations so you can collect new data
only in familiar locations
Correct answer: in both familiar and unfamiliar locations
Q2.
Match the keywords and their definitions.
Correct Answer:enquiry,an investigation of a geographical feature or issue
tick

an investigation of a geographical feature or issue

Correct Answer:fieldwork,investigating the outdoors using geographical tools to gather data
tick

investigating the outdoors using geographical tools to gather data

Correct Answer:data collection,collecting the data for your investigation using a range of methods
tick

collecting the data for your investigation using a range of methods

Correct Answer:hypothesis,a statement which can be tested
tick

a statement which can be tested

Correct Answer:environmental quality survey,a type of survey assessing factors that affect the environment
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a type of survey assessing factors that affect the environment

Q3.
When we conduct fieldwork, what do we start with?
Correct answer: setting the enquiry question
data collection
data presentation
evaluation
Q4.
Which of the following could be included in an environmental quality survey?
globalisation
Correct answer: litter
gross domestic product
Correct answer: noise

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