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Fieldwork Skills » Presenting Fieldwork Data

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Edexcel spec: 1.4, 2.4

How to present data with graphs, flow lines and proportional symbols
How to use maps: grid references, scale, symbols and digital maps
How to read aerial photographs and satellite images
How to draw sketch maps and field sketches

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Showing your data clearly

You have planned an enquiry and collected your data. Now you must show it in a way that other people can understand quickly. The exam calls these your graphical skills. A good display makes a pattern easy to see. A bad one hides it.

Key terms:

Flow line: a map arrow whose width shows how many people, vehicles or goods move along a route.
Proportional symbol: a symbol, such as a circle, whose size shows the size of a value at a place.
Annotate: to add short labels to a map, diagram or photograph to explain what it shows.

Graphs, flow lines and proportional symbols

📊 Graphs

A bar chart compares separate groups, such as pebble size at different beach sites. A line graph shows change in order, such as the number of shoppers counted each hour through the day. Always give a title, label both axes with units, and use an even scale.

🗺 Maps with data

A flow line map shows movement, such as shoppers travelling into a town. A thicker arrow means more movement. A proportional symbol map puts a bigger circle where a value is bigger, such as traffic count. Both need a key.

You can also annotate maps, diagrams and photographs. Short labels pointing to features, such as "undercut bank" or "litter on pavement", turn a plain picture into evidence.

Map skills

Maps help you show where your sites were. You need four skills.

Grid references: a grid reference gives the position of a place using the numbered grid lines. Say the number along the bottom first (the eastings), then the number up the side (the northings). Remember: along the corridor, then up the stairs. A four-figure reference names a whole square. A six-figure reference adds tenths of a square to find a point.
Scale: the scale compares distance on the map with real distance. On a 1:25,000 map, 1 cm on the map is 25,000 cm (250 m) on the ground.
Symbols: maps use small pictures and colours to save space. The key explains each one. Contour lines join places of equal height. Lines close together mean a steep slope.
Digital maps: online maps, such as Google Earth or ArcGIS Online, let you zoom, add your own sites and measure distances.

Maps also let you pick out landforms, such as a valley or a headland, and human features, such as roads, bridges and buildings.

Worked example

Grid reference. A church symbol is in the square whose bottom-left corner is where easting 34 meets northing 56. The four-figure grid reference is 3456 (34 first, then 56).

Scale. Two bridges are 6 cm apart on a 1:25,000 map. 6 × 250 m = 1,500 m, which is 1.5 km.

Photographs and satellite images

🛰 Vertical aerial photograph

Taken from directly above. It looks like a map, so patterns and layout are clear. Heights are hard to judge.

📷 Oblique aerial photograph

Taken at an angle from the air. It shows the height and shape of features, but features at the back look smaller and some are hidden.

🌍 Satellite image

Taken from space. It covers large areas and can be repeated over time to show change.

To read any of these, find the features you know, such as a river or road. Then describe where other features are compared with them. A GIS can place images, maps and data in layers, so you can switch them on and off and compare them.

Sketching skills

A sketch map is a simple outline map. It shows the main features and their positions, not every detail. A field sketch is a simple drawing of what you see from one spot. You do not need to be an artist.

Give each a title and say where it is.
Use only simple lines. Leave out small details.
Label the important features and annotate them with short notes.
On a sketch map, add a north arrow and a key.
On a field sketch, show foreground, middle ground and background.

Spatial awareness means seeing where features are in relation to each other. Use words like "north-east of", "next to" and "closer to the river than" to describe it.

Common mistakes

Giving the northings before the eastings in a grid reference. Along first, then up.
Forgetting units and labels on graph axes, or leaving off the title.
Choosing the wrong graph. Use a line graph for change in order and a bar chart for separate groups.
Leaving off a key on a flow line or proportional symbol map, so nobody knows what the sizes mean.
Drawing a detailed picture instead of a simple, labelled field sketch.

Exam-style question

A student counted shoppers on a high street each hour: 9 am had 20, 10 am had 35, 11 am had 50 and 12 noon had 75. They also drew a field sketch of the street and used a 1:25,000 map.

(a) Suggest a suitable graph to show the shopper data and give a reason. [2 marks]

(b) Two bridges are 8 cm apart on the 1:25,000 map. Calculate the real distance in kilometres. [2 marks]

Model answer

(a) A line graph (1), because it shows how the number of shoppers changes in order through the morning (1). A bar chart is also accepted with a sensible reason.

(b) 8 × 250 m = 2,000 m (1), which is 2 km (1).

(c) Annotations label features such as shop fronts or crowded pavements (1), so the sketch gives clear evidence of what was seen at the site (1).

Exam tip

In part (b), show your working. On a 1:25,000 map, 1 cm is 250 m, so 4 cm is 1 km. If your final answer is wrong, the working can still earn a mark.

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