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Fieldwork involves the collection of information or data. Quantitative data usually consists of factual information that can be counted and used in fieldwork. Qualitative data is more opinion-based, but is still useful for geographical investigations.

Data collection sheets

Data can either be:

• Primary - information that you collect yourself, eg tallies, measurements and photographs
• Secondary - information that someone else has previously collected and made available, eg on the internet

The design of primary data collection sheets is important. Simple methods of noting down information leads to clear and accurate data. Informed conclusions can then be drawn.

Sampling

It's important to collect enough data to give a good picture of events. Any data collected should not be biased, for example, some younger people might think that skate parks improve their city, but some older people might prefer gyms or cafes, so ask a mixture of different ages to gain a balanced view.

Sampling techniques help to avoid bias:

• Random sampling - selecting a person to interview or site to measure, at random. Random sampling is unbiased as particular people or places are not specifically selected.
• Systematic sampling - collecting data in an ordered or regular way, eg every 5 metres or every fifth person.
• Stratified sampling - Stratified sampling is taken to ensure that there is an equal representation of the different subsets in a group. For example, in a school of 1000 students, 560 of the students are male and 440 are female. When conducting a survey in that school, 56% of the respondents should be male and 44% female. This will ensure fair representation of each group.

Data often comes in the form of numbers.

Types of quantitative data

Many different things can be measured in fieldwork, for example the velocity of a river, the number of cars or the amount of litter in a particular location.

Numbers can also appear in other forms:

• Nominal data - these are numbers that appear as categories, eg 1 = yes and 2 = no.
• Ordinal data - these numbers have an order, eg the rank order of cities by population size. It is known that city 1 is more populated than city 2 and 3, but it is not known how many more people there are, as the spacing between each city is not equal.
• Interval data - these numbers are similar to ordinal, but the difference between each number is equal, eg temperature is measured in degrees centigrade.
• Ratio data - this is when there is a relationship between two sets of numbers, eg number of people per doctor.

Data does not have to be in numeric form - it can also be in words and descriptions.

Types of qualitative data

Qualitative data can take many forms. Some common types are:

• Questionnaires - this is when people are asked what they think. Questionnaires are good at finding out opinions, but they may be less accurate when looking for facts.
• Field sketches and photographs - this is when a snapshot of a landscape is taken, either with a camera or by drawing. Field sketches and photographs provide a good reminder of what a place is like.

• Maps - these can be either hand-drawn or sourced from somewhere like the internet. Maps give spatial information about places. Satellite images and GIS maps are types of map that can be used for fieldwork.