CCEA GCSE Geography Unit 3 Fieldwork and Geographical Skills: the enquiry process, data collection and sampling, presentation, analysis and evaluation

What this unit demands

Unit 3 Fieldwork is worth 20 percent of CCEA GCSE Geography and is a one-hour written exam, not coursework. You complete a fieldwork investigation based on a topic from Unit 1 or Unit 2, then answer questions on the whole enquiry, bringing an approved fieldwork statement and a table of your data into the exam. This unit is pure AO3: it tests the skills of investigating geographical questions and communicating findings. This overview ties the dot-point pages together and shows how the paper rewards each stage.

The building blocks of the unit

The unit follows the enquiry from start to finish.

• The geographical enquiry process. The stages of an enquiry, and planning with a clear aim and testable hypothesis.
• Collecting and sampling data. Primary and secondary data, quantitative and qualitative methods, and the three sampling strategies.
• Presenting, analysing and evaluating. Choosing the right graphs and maps, analysing results, concluding against the hypothesis, and evaluating reliability.

It is your own investigation

The single thing that makes Unit 3 different is that it examines your own fieldwork. You revise the study you carried out: your aim, your sites, your methods, your data and your conclusion. Because you bring a fieldwork statement and a data table into the exam, revision is about knowing every stage of your investigation, and the enquiry process, well enough to answer questions on any part of it.

The skills the unit rewards

Unit 3 is entirely about AO3: selecting and using skills and techniques to investigate questions and communicate findings. That includes writing a testable hypothesis, choosing a fair sampling method, selecting the right graph or map, analysing patterns with figures, concluding against the hypothesis, and evaluating reliability. Geographical skills such as ordnance survey map reading (grid references, scale, distance) and describing graphs also run through both Unit 3 and the resource-based questions in Units 1 and 2.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall questions covering the whole unit. Attempt them, then check the solutions.

1. Is Unit 3 Fieldwork coursework or a written exam? (1 mark)
2. What is the difference between an aim and a hypothesis? (2 marks)
3. Give one example of primary data and one of secondary data. (2 marks)
4. Name the three sampling strategies. (3 marks)
5. Why is sampling used in fieldwork? (1 mark)
6. Which graph best shows how a value changes with distance downstream? (1 mark)
7. What must a conclusion refer back to? (1 mark)
8. Give two ways to improve the reliability of a fieldwork investigation. (2 marks)
9. What does the evaluation stage of an enquiry judge? (1 mark)