Conclusion & Evaluation (AQA GCSE Geography): Revision Notes

Conclusion & Evaluation

The final stages of any fieldwork investigation require you to draw meaningful conclusions and critically evaluate your study. This involves reflecting on your original hypothesis, assessing the quality of your data, and identifying areas for improvement.

Drawing effective conclusions

A strong fieldwork conclusion should systematically address several key elements that tie your findings back to your original research question.

Start with your hypothesis and aim Always begin by revisiting what you set out to investigate. Reference your original hypothesis clearly and explain how your findings relate to it. This shows the examiner that you understand the purpose of your enquiry.

Present your evidence systematically Your conclusion should carefully examine the data you collected:

• Supporting evidence: Highlight findings that back up your hypothesis, using specific data and examples
• Contradicting evidence: Be honest about results that don't support your expectations - this shows critical thinking
• Unusual results: Acknowledge any anomalies in your data and suggest possible explanations

Make theoretical connections Link your findings to geographical theories and concepts you've studied. This demonstrates your ability to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations and shows deeper understanding.

Make a clear judgement End your conclusion by stating whether your hypothesis was supported, partially supported, or not supported by the evidence. Justify this decision with reference to your data.

Evaluating your fieldwork

Evaluation is crucial in fieldwork as it demonstrates your ability to think critically about the research process. In exams, evaluation questions are often worth significant marks.

Focus on data collection methods Consider how well your chosen methods worked in practice:

• Were they appropriate for testing your hypothesis?
• Did they produce reliable, accurate data?
• Could different methods have given better results?

Assess the reliability of your conclusions Think about how confident you can be in your findings. Consider factors like sample size, data quality, and whether your results would be similar if the study was repeated.

Identifying issues and limitations

Every fieldwork study has limitations - recognising these shows maturity and critical thinking. Common issues include:

Suggesting improvements

Demonstrating how you would enhance your study shows excellent evaluation skills. Consider improvements such as:

Expanding the study

• Increase sample size for more representative results
• Take additional measurements to get more detailed data
• Use a wider range of secondary sources for context
• Extend the geographical area or time period studied

Improving methodology

• Use more accurate equipment (e.g., flow metre instead of float for river velocity)
• Design better questionnaires with clearer, unbiased questions
• Choose different sampling methods
• Collect data at multiple times to account for temporal variation

Assessing reliability

When evaluating your conclusions, consider several key factors:

Appropriateness of approach

• Did your aims and hypothesis match what you actually investigated?
• Was your chosen location suitable for testing your hypothesis?
• Could your hypothesis be easily tested with available methods?

Quality of execution

• How accurately was data collected?
• Would repeating the study produce similar results?
• Were there enough data points to draw reliable conclusions?

Scope for extension

• How could the study be expanded or developed further?
• What additional research questions arose from your findings?
• Could the methodology be applied to other locations or contexts?