GCSE Coursework Handbook

8/14/2019 GCSE Coursework Handbook

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GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT COURSEWORK BOOKLET

THE PROJECT OUTLINE

SECTION 1.

CHOOSING A GEOGRAPHICAL TOPIC / HYPOTHESIS

- Brief background information- The reasons for the choice of investigation

- The outline plan of the investigation

- What do you want to find out? write these down - they are your AIMS

- The breakdown of ideas to test (hypotheses)

SECTION 2.

THE METHOD.

- The method used to investigate each hypothesis

-Collecting the data / evidence

- The equipment used- The decisions about where, how and why particular methods where used

SECTION 3

THE RESULTS

-the maps, diagrams, graphs or sketches showing the results of each investigation

- Write about your maps, tables, graphs and diagrams; explain what they show

- A description / analysis of what each piece of submitted evidence shows

- How do they help you to meet the aims of your enquiry that you gave in your introduction

SECTION 4

THE CONCLUSION

- look at all the work done

- test each hypothesis in turn using the evidence collected, based on previous analysis

- link the results to the original aims of the work

- how far has your main hypothesis been shown to be proved

- draw overall conclusions

-place your work in its broader geographical setting

-evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the work as a whole

- ideas for further investigation

- any limitations that you may have discovered


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PROJECT FIELDWORK

It is a requirement of your exam course that you must present a piece of coursework or project

based on fieldwork research.

It must be based on something that is covered by the content of the GCSE Exam Syllabus, and on

something that can be researched locally, since it involves you going out and collecting raw data.In other words, you cannot choose a topic such as Deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest as it

is not in the syllabus and you are unlikely to be able to visit this area on a regular basis to collect

primary data.

If you are in any doubt, then consult your teacher and listen to their advice. (An inappropriate

project will not be accepted.)

Since you are going to have to spend some months studying your project in detail, it is advisable to

choose a topic that does at least interest you. You have free choice as to what you study, but be

prepared to be flexible in your choices.

Some topics, although interesting, are not always practical, and may have to be modified or

changed altogether, so have alternatives. For example a project on Sewage Pollution is notpossible, because you will not be able to analyse the content of sea water samples. It may be

possible to approach this topic from another angle.

How long should it be?

It should be between 1500 and 2500 words in total, although most projects are longer than this

by the time the graphs, data, photos, maps etc. have been added. It is permitted to tape or video

part or all of a study provided that it meets the exam board's requirements, and can be

moderated.

Please try to be realistic about the length of your project for your sake and ours. It is not

necessary to write a small book ; remember it is QUALITY not QUANTITY that counts.

How must it be presented?

The project should be presented on A4 size paper in an envelope folder, not a ring bound or hard

back folder. You may hand write your study or use a computer to word process it and to present your graphs

and tables.

You will not be penalised if you do not use a computer. It is the quality of presentation and range

of skills used, regardless of the methods employed that will be assessed.

The study MUST have a contents page and all pages, including maps, graphs etc. must be

numbered.


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What shall I study ?

Your project must take one of the following forms :

1). The consideration of an argument.

2). The consideration of a problem.

3). An idea or hypothesis to be tested.

4). A question.

1). The consideration of an argument / an Issue based study.

With this approach, the project should look at two or more sides of a geographical argument. Having

collected evidence from all the interested parties, you should then try to make a balanced

judgement into the value of the various points of view and then try to arrive at a possible conclusion.

E.g.: To consider the reaction to plans to build a new marina at Truro, involving permanent

flooding of the river basin. You would need to consider the points of view of the County Planing

Department, the NRA, local industries who use Newham Quay, local residents, local and national

conservation groups, the Harbour Master, the Developers. Having collected all the evidence you

can then ask yourself - Who has the better case ?- Should the marina be built or not? How

balanced have people's point of view been?

2).The consideration of a problem.

To use this approach, there has to be an existing problem or a potential problem.

E.g.: The traffic congestion problems on the main feeder roads to Truro only occur at commuter rush

hour periods and therefore a by-pass will not solve this problem.

This suggests that there is already a traffic problem , but this needs to be researched, and possible

solutions to the problem suggested, supported by geographical reasoning founded from discussion

with the Highways Department, Police, Sainsbury's manager and others.

3). An idea or hypothesis to be tested.

An hypothesis is an idea which can be tested. It usually expresses a relationship between two ormore variables. First you have to produce an idea or theory. E.g.:

That the land use in Truro reflects the Burgess Concentric Ring Urban Development Model.

Temperature across a valley will vary with height and aspect.

Some shops and services cluster more than others.

Having thought of one you must then produce the evidence to support your idea or even disprove

your theory. There is nothing wrong with finding that your idea is not true.

4). A Question.

This should have one or more of the following key words - What? How? When? Where? - and always

end with a question mark. Eg:

How and why do vegetation and soils change across the valley of River X? What is the impact of the tourist trade in town X at different times of the year?

Apart f rom these impor tant approaches, i t i s e ssent ia l that you

choose an aspect of Geography that you en joy, and remember i t must

b e b a se d o n s omet h in g c o ve re d i n t he s y ll a bu s e .g .: a gr i cu l tu re ,

i ndustry, sett l ement , phys i ca l o r env i r onment .


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In which topic areas in Geography would I be happy to do my coursework?

A. Physical Geography

Happy Maybe Unhappy

Rivers

Coasts

Vegetation

Soils

Weather

B. Human Geography

Urban Settlement - cities & towns

Rural Settlement - villages

Farming

Industry

Retail / Shopping

Leisure / Recreation

Tourism

Transport

C. Environmental and Local Issues

Pollution

Quality of landscape

Environmental impact study

Plans for change (Eg: New road)

Impact of new developments (Eg: out of

town shopping)

D. Others (Add any other possible topic areas to the list.)

Strategy:

1. Make a list of topics that interest you.

2. Is there a local issue being given a lot of publicity?

3. Do some research to see what is going to be possible.

4. Make a list of preferred methods of data collection.

Use your teacher as a geographical resource - consultations are usually free (Bribes like mars bars,

world cup tickets etc. may help!)


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Before you finally settle on your coursework title ask yourself the following questions

..............

Is the title geographical?

Geographers:

make up to date descriptions of landscapes - both physical and human and they try to explain the

patterns they find;

study the way people change and interact with the landscape;look at the challenges facing people and the choices people can make about the environment.

Will the choice of title allow you to collect a variety of data?

Is the choice of title too broad?

Eg; What factors affect the location of industry in Cornwall?

Is the choice of title too narrow?

Eg: What is the traffic flow at the end of my street on a Saturday morning in February? Always ask your teacher to check your coursework title!

METHOD.

Planning - How do I go about it?

Now that you have chosen the area that you wish to study, you must decide how you are going to go

about it. This is your METHOD. you should organise your study in the following way.

1). The idea that you wish to investigate should be written down.

2). If this statement is to be tested, then you will need to break this question down into smaller

more manageable questions. When these have been answered you will be able to answer the main

question.

3). Having decided on these questions, you must now plan the structure of your study, using theplanning section at the back of this booklet.

a). What information do you have to collect in order to come up with an

answer? Have you done a little research to see whether it is going to

be possible in your local area?

b). How are you going to collect this information? Think about the practical

possibilities. Eg: Where? Size, Access, Safety

d). What do I have to do?

e). Is the idea within my capabilities? The idea is to get the best possible mark. This

does not necessarily mean that you have to pick the most complicated, difficult study. A simple study

done well may be a better idea. Don't pick something that covers too great an area or something too

specialised. It is very important that you discuss your ideas with your teacher before you start, andremember - be flexible, you may have to change your focus.

f). What tools and equipment will I need?

g). Who will help me? My teacher and which other experts.

h). How will I present my findings so that other people and I can

understand them?

i). How will I plan to make my project a success?

4). The information can now be collected together and processed. This will vary on the type of study

you are undertaking, but you will need to make some important decisions:

* WHERE? What is your site or location

* HOW LONG FOR/HOW OFTEN?* WHEN? Time of day, day of week, time of year

* WHICH TESTS?

* HOW MANY?


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The data collection may involve questionnaires, maps, tables, photographs, interviews, graphs.

Eventual all this information will have to be clearly presented and displayed.

DOs and DONTs for Coursework Planning

DOs DONTs

4 Start planning what you are going to do in

good time.

7 Think that all the planning and data

collection can be done in one day4 Collect the data as early as possible 7 Wait until the deadline for handing in the

work approaches before collecting the data

4 Do a sample data collection to check that

you are able to collect all the data you

need

7 Rush into the data collection without

thinking about what you are doing and what

you are going to do with the data

4 Keep all the work together in a separate

folder.

7 Spend hours copying out of books or

brochures or use large amounts of non-

geographical background information.


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COLLECTING THE DATA.

Having carefully planned your study and agreed this with your teacher you now have to collect the

data needed to test the ideas or questions being tested. It is important that the data collected is

relevant and provides useful evidence for the study. There are two types of data: Primary and

Secondary.

PRIMARY SOURCES.This is new information collected by you in the field. Your study MUST contain evidence of this kind.

This type of data includes: field surveys Eg: traffic counts, questionnaire surveys, photographs,

weather records, sketches, sketch maps, transects, cross-sections and interviews, in fact any

information collected at first hand. There are a variety of techniques that can be used to collect

data and many of these are outlined in the department field study guide books in the Humanities

Resource Centre.

SECONDARY SOURCES.

This is material collected by others, usually available as printed material. You may use this type of

data to add to your own, support your findings or to contrast your findings, but you must not rely

entirely on this source. This kind of data is often very valuable, but make sure that it is relevant.Don't put it into your study just because you have it, and don't try to build your project around it.

This type of data includes:

Books, magazines, articles, directories, government statistics, statistics from sources like the police,

County Hall, Truro Chamber of Commerce, company publications, newspapers, television, radio, maps

of many different scales.

E.g.: Secondary data would provide historical information on the population and occupations of a

village. This could be compared with present day primary observations in the field and then used to

show changes that have taken place.

The data chosen MUST provide good evidence for the study.

ALWAYS check that the data can be processed satisfactorily.

Planning your data collection.

Plan carefully:

what data to collect

when will you collect the data

how will you collect the data what materials and equipment you may need

where you will collect the data

use the planning section at the back to create a plan or diary to show what you are going to do andwhen.

sometimes you will need help to collect some of the data, and sometimes it is safer to work in

pairs or small groups. Eg: it takes at least two people to collect river data. It is quite OK to work

with other people, but the writing up must be your own individual work.


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Timing your data collection.

Timing may be very important in 3 main types of coursework:

how something changes over time e.g.: number of tourists, sphere of influence of shoppers, river

flow, weather; studies of rivers, transport, beaches, vegetation and rural land-uses. It is difficult to do a beach

study at high tide or if the river is in flood, or a vegetation study in the middle of winter.

transport or pedestrian counts - do you need to count at the busiest times? the slackest times? a

mixture?

Dos AND DONTs FOR DATA COLLECTION

Dos DONTs

PLANNING

4 plan your data collection carefully 7 struggle - ask your teacher for help

4 plan to collect plenty of primary data 7 rely on secondary only

4 plan to collect a variety of data 7 rely on only one type of data

4 make sure your surveys are linked to your

aims

7

PREPARATION

4 think about safety 7 leave it to the last minute4 think about access 7 forget to think about the timing

4 plan to visit places more than once 7 forget to book all the equipment you need

4 wear suitable clothing 7 leave it until winter time to take

photographs

4 prepare your record sheets 7 collect too much or to little data

4 plan your transport and helpers 7 forget to plan your sampling

4 think about the best time to do your

fieldwork

7 leave it to the last minute to process your

photos

COLLECTION

4collect appropriate data

7forget to say thank you

4 be as accurate as possible 7 collect door to door surveys on your own

4 be polite when asking questions 7 do projects near water on you own

4 take notes about any problems - you will

need to evaluate the success of your data

collection

7 do anything which may be dangerous or

unsafe

4 allow plenty of time to arrange interviews 7 trespass or break the law


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A NOTE ABOUT USING QUESTIONNAIRES.

This involves asking people a series of questions. They are time consuming to carry out and rely on

the goodwill and honesty of other people. However, they can be not only useful, but essential, so it is

important to go about them the correct way to get the best value from them. Points to remember:

1). Only ask relevant questions.

2). Keep questions short.

3). Make sure that the answers will be easy to analyse afterwards. E.g.: use a tick box to avoided longwinded answers. To do this you will have to provide people with a variety of option to choose from,

and these will have to be carefully considered.

4). Try not to ask people for an opinion as this will be difficult to analyse.

5). DO NOT ask personal questions, e.g.: Age. If you need to know this, estimate it after you have

completed the interview in an age category e.g.: 25 - 30. You will never need to know a person's

address, although the village or area of a town may be useful.

6). Make sure that the layout is clear so that people are guided through it and not confused by

contradicting questions.

7). Make sure that there is an introductory statement making it quite clear what the project is about

and what the aim of the questionnaire is .

8). Question a good cross-section of people - all ages and sexes, and question a good number. Ten willnot be enough to tell you anything. Aim to do 100 - your data ill be significant and easier to work out

your figures in %.

9). Always thank people afterwards.

10). In order to avoid any concerns from the public about your questionnaire, please make sure that

you have a letter explaining that your questionnaire is only for use in a school project and that the

information collected will not be used for any other purpose.

This will available from your teacher after your questionnaire has been checked for content and

presentation.

Remember, you are representing not just the Humanities Department, but Richard Lander

School, so please be courteous at all times.

You should describe how each investigation was carried out, how each idea was tested and what

equipment was used. You should give reasons for your choice of methods and for your choice of

location for testing. If you have used a questionnaire you should explain why you have chosen your

particular questions and what you hope to find out by asking them.

TEXT BOOK.

Use pages 18 and 21 in Tackling Coursework by Bowen and Pallister to help plan your questionnaires

and other types of survey and data collection .

Use pages 26 to 51 for examples of a variety of projects and methods of collection.


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RESULTS.

CHECK LIST:

Have you collected enough data?

Is the data you have collected sufficiently varied to allow you to use a good range of different

presentation techniques?

1). Now you have done the necessary planning, and collected the information, your idea can be tested

using the fieldwork results, to answer the individual questions which were originally asked?

2). Present the whole project in a way which allow others to see not only the result, but how they

were achieved, including:

* how the data was collected

* the results found

* the conclusions drawn

PRESENTING THE DATA.

This is a very important part of the project as it represents the evidence which has been collectedto test the hypothesis and should be as accurate as possible. You should try to use a wide variety of

means of displaying data. Be as imaginative as possible and always aim for first class presentation.

Some ways could include:

Line graphs Location maps Pie charts

Sketch maps Histograms Photographs (annotated

Correlations Field sketches (and located on a map)

Choropleth maps Tables Distribution maps

Videos Taped interviews Computer print outs

As each piece of information is drawn or presented , a description of the main points and

some kind of explanation must be given.

Examiners reports draw attention to the fact that too many candidates do not use a range of

techniques in data presentation, nor do they use appropriate techniques. It is worth integrating the techniques and analytical commentary so that you gain the maximum

marks possible. If you dont, the examiner will find a selection of graphs without description,

explanation/analysis very boring and skip through..

Remember to discuss the significance of you results by using the appropriate tests. Also, justify

each method used and describe the problems encountered using such techniques.

Ask yourself: Have I presented the data clearly and neatly in the most appropriate way? Can the examiner read it?

Have I used a wide range of maps, sketches, statistical diagrams, photographs, table of figures

etc. Have I used a wide variety of graphs, bar charts, pie charts, scattergraphs, drawings etc. to

display my data?

Have I correctly labelled all my graphs with titles, labelled axis, key, scale, north point etc. Have I labelled my photocopies, cuttings etc. to show the examiner how I have used them, and not

just stuck them in to make the study look pretty.

Diagrams, maps, newspaper articles must be integrated into the text, not just stuck in as space

filling extras. Try to include at least 6 different methods. Keep a check list.

Call all your forms of presentation, maps, tables, photographs, graphs etc. a Figureand number

them Eg: Fig. 1a.


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BEWARE - of repeating one method of data presentation. 6 pie graphs do not earn 6 marks. One or

two pie graphs showing this as one way of presenting data will have the same impact.

SUMMARY

Use a variety of techniques

Be accurate

Be neat

Number all tables, graphs, maps and diagrams Add labels to them

Place them carefully

Refer to them in your writing.

TEXT BOOK.

Use pages 52 to 75 to in Tackling Coursework by Bowen and Pallister to find out about the full range

of Data Presentation possible and how and where to use it.


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Summary of methods for presenting data.

Page references are for Tackling coursework by Bowen and Pallister


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CONCLUSION

Main purpose:

To look at all the work done

To link the results to the original aims of the work

To draw overall conclusions

To place your work in its broader geographical setting To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the work as a whole

By now you will have collected your data and presented it in a variety of forms. Look carefully at

everything you have discovered so far. What does it show? What CONCLUSIONS can you draw from

it?

This section should weigh up all the evidence which has been collected to test each smaller idea. It

does not hurt to show evidence that was unexpected because you may not always find that your

hypothesis is true. All the evidence is useful and interesting and should be discussed.

It is a good chance to say here whether or not you found certain tests useful, or if there were

problems with the tests.

Having considered your smaller questions you can then use your evidence to test your mainhypothesis, and then you can state whether it was true or false, or if the results point for or against

an argument being tested, or what the possible answer to a problem may be. Any answers to a

problem must be supported by geographical reasoning.

Don't worry if you can't make a clear cut decision, but you should try to say why this is the case and

perhaps suggest further work that could be done to bring you to a conclusion.

Flow diagram to take you through the stages for writing up your conclusion.


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LIMITATIONS / EVALUATION

In your conclusion you will find that you may not be able to explain everything and that your project

does not answer all the questions. Ask yourself - Does my work suggest any limitations? NO project

is entirely complete and there are always things that mean that your research is not as accurate as it

could be, or that the test and techniques were not as good as they could have been. You must show

that you are aware of the limitations of your work by writing a clear statement to show the

drawbacks. It is good to be self critical. A good way of doing this is by asking yourself how you couldimprove your coursework if you had the chance to do it again, or had access to more sophisticated

equipment. (Time should not be considered a limitation as you will have plenty of time and should plan

a project which can be completed by the deadline.)

The evaluation applies to the whole of your coursework. You should refer to one or more of the

following as appropriate to your coursework:

A. STRENGTHS.

what you found most interesting or useful or rewarding in doing the work

what you consider to be the strengths and successes of your work

B. WEAKNESSES. (limitations)

problems or difficulties encountered in collecting the data whether it would have been better to have collected more data or data of a different type

how you might be able to reduce or overcome these weaknesses and limitations if you were to do

another similar study

C. WIDER APPLICATIONS.

you have done a snap-shot study of one example; is your example typical? How likely is it that your

conclusions could be applied to other examples?

possibilities for doing further work or for extending the study.

CHECK LIST:

Have your results been linked back to the original aims.

Have you drawn an overall conclusion?

Have you placed the work in a broader geographical setting?

Have you proved your hypothesis?

Has your hypothesis been disproved?

Are your results inconclusive?

Can you offer any possible explanations for these results?


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LAYOUT

Your coursework should follow the guidelines below i.e.:

TITLE, - clear title in prominent position

- essential information

TABLE OF CONTENTS - can only be completed at the end when all pages are

numbered

INTRODUCTION & AIMS,- you will need to improve your first draft

- make brief references to the geographical background to

your work

COLLECTING THE DATA, METHOD, - description of methods used

- some explanations of where and why

you used them- examples of type of data collected

DATA PRESENTATION/ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS,

DATA INTERPRETATION

- present the data

- state what it shows

- look for similarities, differences, patterns, links and

relationships for the data

CONCLUSION, - take an overall view of the work- summarise the work done and what it

shows in relation to the original aims

- relate your findings to their geographical

background

LIMITATIONS/EVALUATION,

- mention strengths and weaknesses

REFERENCES,

- references used- people consulted

- any other data sources

APPENDICES

- data collection sheets

- completed questionnaires

- tables of data

As well as the main content , the following things should be present in the project to make it more

complete.

The work can be hand written or typed / word processed.Use colour on maps, diagrams and graphs wherever possible.

Label all maps and annotate all photographs.

Check all your spellings and English grammar as you will be awarded mark for the standard of these.


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HOW WILL IT BE ASSESSED?

This project makes up 25% of your exam marks. Completion of a coursework project is a compulsory

requirement of the GCSE course. If you fail to hand it in then you will NOT be entered for the exam.

Your study will be marked out of 30. This mark is then doubled and the mark for spelling and

punctuation is added so that it is eventually out of 63 and then scaled to a total out of 25%.Marks are awarded under five headings as follows :


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STUDENT PROJECT ACTION PLAN.

Name: ............................... Group: .............

When planning your project ask yourself:

What will I need to find out?

What do I have to do?

How will I get the information?

Who will help me?

Who is it for?

What tools and equipment will I need?

What materials are available

How will I present my work?

How long have I got?

How will I plan to make my project a

success?

Aim. (What is your hypothesis?)

This is the main idea you are going to test.

Sub questions. (If any)

These are the ideas to test my hypothesis.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


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Method (How will I go about it?)

This is the structure of your study.

What information do I have to collect?

When do I collect it?

How am I going to collect it?

What do I have to do?

Who can help me?Where is my study location?

How long or how often do I collect it?

How will I manage my time?

What tools and equipment will I need?

What skills will I need to have?

What materials are available?

Which tests will I use?

How many tests?How will I check my ideas are O.K?

Describe here what methods you intend to use, in detail.

Explain how you are going to go about your study in order to make it a success.

Use extra sheets here if you need to

Results/PRESENTATION


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( These show how the data was collected, what results I have found and conclusions I have

drawn)

How am I going to present my information?

What will I use? (maps, graphs photos etc.?)


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Conclusions / EVALUATION / LIMITATIONS

(What am I going to include when I put together my conclusion? What limitations did I find in

carrying out my study?)

How can I explain what I set out to do?

What is the best way to do this?

How will I use what I have found out?

How will I describe the success of my

finished work?

How will I check whether my idea is

successful?What skills have I used?

Don't forget your limitations!

Presentation ( How am I going to lay out my project?)

THE WIDER GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING


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Resources I will need to borrow

People I will need to contact.


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Tutorials and action plans.

Your course work is really your responsibility. You must have the self discipline to keep on top of your

work. In this section, you have been given the opportunity to arrange a personal tutorial with your

teacher. Brief help may be given in class, but staff are available at lunchtimes and after school by

arrangement. If you choose not to take this opportunity, then you will miss a chance at being offered

expert advice and guidance. At the very minimum, you should use this section to set yourself Action

Plan deadlines, so that you can monitor your own progress. If you like, you can use it as a personalproject timetable, with a built in check to see if you are keeping to targets.

Date of next tutorial: ................................................................

By my next tutorial I will have achieved the following:

..................................Staff:........................

Tutorial 1.

Have I achieved what I agreed above? What have I achieved?

Date of next tutorial: ..............................................................


Signed: Pupil:.............................................Staff:...........................

Tutorial 2 / Target 2.




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Signed: Pupil:.............................................Staff:...........................


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Tutorial 3 / Target 3.




Signed: Pupil...........................................Staff:...........................

Tutorial 4 / Target 4.Have I achieved what I agreed above? What have I achieved?



Signed: Pupil...........................................Staff:...........................


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Documents

GCSE Coursework Handbook