OxfordAQA International GCSE Geography (9230): Geographical and fieldwork skills – Study Guide

This guide covers Unit 3, Geographical and Fieldwork skills (section 3.3), of the OxfordAQA International GCSE Geography (9230) specification, Version 4.3 (exams May/June 2020 onwards). It works through section 3.3.1 (Section A: Geographical skills) and section 3.3.2 (Section B: Fieldwork skills and Section C: Individual fieldwork enquiry). Paper 3, Geographical and Fieldwork skills, is a 1 hour 15 minute written exam worth 60 marks and 28% of the qualification, with three compulsory sections of 20 marks each. Geographical skills can also be tested on Papers 1 and 2, and map extracts may be used in any of the three exams.

Use this guide with the revision notes for this unit and the practice questions. See also the OxfordAQA International GCSE Geography hub and the 9230 topic checklist. All places and data in the examples are fictional.

Coverage table

Syllabus reference	What you must know or be able to do (from the specification)	Where assessed
3.3.1.1 Cartographic skills	Atlas maps (latitude and longitude, distributions and patterns, links between physical and human features); large-scale maps including 1:50 000 and 1:25 000 (grid references, scale, distance, direction, contours, gradient, cross-sections and transects, landscape features, inferring human activity); maps with photographs, sketches, labels and annotations	All three papers
3.3.1.2 Graphical skills	Select, construct, complete, plot and interpret graphs, charts and data maps, including isolines and dispersion graphs	All three papers
3.3.1.3 Numerical skills	Number, area, scale and units; data collection sheets (accuracy, sample size, procedures, control groups, reliability); proportion, ratio, magnitude and frequency; conclusions from numerical data	All three papers
3.3.1.4 Statistical skills	Averages, spread, cumulative frequency, percentage change, percentiles, best fit, selective presentation	All three papers
3.3.1 Use of qualitative and quantitative data; Formulate enquiry and argument	Primary and secondary sources; enquiry questions; descriptive, analytical and critical writing; extended argument; evidenced conclusions	All three papers
3.3.2 Fieldwork enquiry	Six enquiry strands; unfamiliar contexts; your own enquiry	Paper 3 Sections B and C

Of Paper 3’s 60 marks, the designed weightings give 34 to AO3 (interpret, analyse and evaluate), 22 to AO4 (select and use skills and techniques) and 4 to AO2. None go to AO1, so you gain marks by using the resource in front of you.

Cartographic skills: atlas and large-scale maps

Key terms

• Latitude: distance in degrees north or south of the Equator. Longitude: distance in degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian. Give latitude first.
• Atlas patterns: describe a distribution as clustered, linear (along a coast, river or road) or even, with named places. Compare thematic maps to link human and physical factors, such as dense population on lowland near rivers.
• Grid reference: a four-figure reference names a whole grid square; a six-figure reference names a point to the nearest tenth of a square. Eastings (the numbers along the bottom) come before northings (the numbers up the side).
• Scale: the ratio between map distance and real distance. At 1:50 000, 1 cm on the map is 500 m on the ground (2 cm = 1 km). At 1:25 000, 1 cm is 250 m (4 cm = 1 km).
• Contour: a line joining points of equal height. Close contours mean steep ground; widely spaced contours mean gentle ground. Check the key for the contour interval.
• Gradient: vertical rise divided by horizontal distance, in the same units.
• Direction: use the eight compass points, or a bearing measured clockwise from north.
• Cross-section: a side view of the land along a line, drawn from contour crossings; match its peaks and dips to hills and valleys on the map. A transect is a line along which you record changes, physical or human.

Worked example: grid reference, distance and gradient. On a fictional 1:25 000 map, a hostel symbol sits in square 3256. It lies seven-tenths of the way east across the square and two-tenths of the way north. The four-figure reference is 3256 and the six-figure reference is 327562.

A footbridge at 64 m and a summit at 289 m are 3.6 cm apart on the same map. The horizontal distance is 3.6 x 250 = 900 m. The rise is 289 - 64 = 225 m. Gradient = 225 / 900, which is 1 in 4 (or 25%).

On a 1:50 000 map, a winding road measured with string is 6.8 cm: 6.8 x 500 = 3,400 m, or 3.4 km. A straight ruler gives too short an answer.

Reading the landscape. Describe relief (height, slopes), drainage (rivers, their direction), settlement (shape, size), communications and land use, quoting heights, distances and counts. A car park, picnic site and footpaths suggest tourism; a quarry suggests mineral extraction. Always quote the evidence and a grid reference. You must also describe coastal features, and either river or hot desert features, on large-scale maps; revise the landforms in the Living with the Physical Environment guide.

Evaluation. A map can be out of date, and shows that a road exists, not how busy it is.

Maps, photographs and sketches

You must compare maps, use sketch maps, and describe landforms, vegetation, land use and settlement from ground, aerial and satellite photographs.

• A label names a feature (“river”). An annotation adds explanation (“meander, outer bank eroded by faster flow”).
• A field sketch, drawn in the field or from a photograph, is a simple outline with a title, direction of view, frame and annotations.
• Aerial photographs are vertical (straight down) or oblique (at an angle). Satellite images usually cover larger areas.

Exam-style paragraph (photograph and map). “The photograph shows a wide, flat valley floor with fields and a river bending across it (knowledge). The map confirms this, with widely spaced contours around 438712 and a meandering river (application). This suggests a flood plain built from deposited sediment, fertile but at risk of flooding (analysis). One photograph cannot show how often the land floods, but map and photograph together give stronger evidence than either alone (evaluation).”

Graphical skills

You must select, construct, complete and interpret graphs and maps, and plot data on given axes.

Data	Suitable method	Why
Change over time (continuous)	Line chart	Shows trends between points
Separate categories	Bar chart	Compares amounts directly
Simple counts for a general reader	Pictogram	Eye-catching; each symbol stands for a set amount
Parts of one whole	Pie chart or divided bar	Shows proportions; pie segment = percentage x 3.6 degrees
Grouped continuous data	Histogram with equal class intervals	Bars touch because the data is continuous
Two linked variables	Scattergraph	Shows the relationship and anomalies
Age and sex structure	Population pyramid	Shows males and females by age group
One set of values with spread	Dispersion graph	Shows clustering, spread and outliers

Maps that show data

• Choropleth: areas shaded by class, darker for higher values. Each area gets one value, so change looks sudden at boundaries.
• Isoline: lines join points of equal value, such as noise. Close isolines mean a steep gradient: the value changes quickly. Estimate between lines by interpolation.
• Dot map: each dot is a fixed number, showing clustering.
• Desire lines: straight lines from origin to destination, not the route taken.
• Flow lines: width is proportional to the amount moving along a real route.
• Proportional symbols: symbol size shows quantity at a place.

Numerical skills

• Units and area: 1 km = 1,000 m; 1 km² = 1,000,000 m². On a 1:50 000 map each 2 cm grid square covers 1 km².
• Data collection sheets: columns for site, time, each variable with units, and repeats.
• Accuracy: how close a reading is to the true value. Reliability: whether repeating the method gives similar results. A larger sample is usually more reliable. A control site or group lacks the factor you are testing, for comparison.
• Proportion and ratio: on a fictional land-use transect, 12 residential, 6 commercial and 2 open-space plots give a ratio of 12:6:2, which simplifies to 6:3:1. Residential is 12 / 20 = 60% of plots, which is 216 degrees on a pie chart.
• Magnitude and frequency: large events (big floods, strong storms) happen less often than small ones.
• Informed conclusions: quote what the numbers show, and note their limits, such as a small sample.

Statistical skills

Worked data set (fictional). Noise levels in decibels at 11 sites around a fictional market town, Merrowfield: 61, 52, 74, 58, 88, 66, 55, 72, 58, 63, 70.

In order: 52, 55, 58, 58, 61, 63, 66, 70, 72, 74, 88.

• Mean = 717 / 11 = 65.2 dB. It uses every value, but the 88 dB main-road site pulls it up.
• Median = the 6th value = 63 dB, little affected by the extreme value.
• Mode = 58 dB, the only repeated value.
• Range = 88 - 52 = 36 dB. Quick, but set by the two extremes.
• Quartiles: lower quartile = value at position (n + 1) / 4 = 3rd = 58. Upper quartile = position 3(n + 1) / 4 = 9th = 72. Inter-quartile range = 72 - 58 = 14 dB. It ignores extremes.

Percentage change = (new - old) / old x 100. Merrowfield’s population rose from 18,400 to 23,000: 4,600 / 18,400 x 100 = 25.0% increase. Empty shops fell from 40 to 34: -6 / 40 x 100 = 15.0% decrease.

Cumulative frequency, modal class and percentiles. 40 fictional shoppers gave their travel distance:

Distance (km)	0 to under 2	2 to under 4	4 to under 6	6 to under 8	8 to under 10
Frequency	9	14	8	5	4
Cumulative frequency	9	23	31	36	40

The modal class is 2 to under 4 km. The median is the 20th value, which falls in the 2 to under 4 km class; reading from a cumulative frequency curve gives about 3.6 km. A percentile is the value below which a given percentage of the data lies. The 90th percentile is the 36th shopper, at 8 km: nine-tenths travelled 8 km or less. The quartiles are the 25th and 75th percentiles.

Bivariate data and best fit. River width (m) at eight fictional sites on Hollin Beck, every 1 km downstream from 0.5 km: 1.2, 1.9, 2.1, 3.0, 2.6, 3.8, 4.1, 4.7. Plot distance (the possible cause) on the x-axis.

• Positive relationship: width rises from 1.2 m to 4.7 m over 7 km.
• Draw the line of best fit by eye, with points balanced either side, passing close to the mean point (4.0 km, 2.92 m).
• Interpolate within the data: at 5.0 km the line gives about 3.4 m.
• Extrapolate with caution: at 20 km the line predicts about 10.6 m, but a tributary or weir could change the pattern.
• Anomaly: site 5 (2.6 m) is narrower than site 4, perhaps a resistant rock band or a measuring error.

Selective presentation. Watch for a y-axis not starting at zero, a time period that hides the wider trend, missing sample sizes, and pictogram symbols that grow in both width and height.

Exam-style paragraph (statistics). “The median noise level is 63 dB and the IQR is 14 dB (knowledge). The mean of 65.2 dB is higher because one site beside the main road recorded 88 dB (application). The median is the better summary of typical noise, since one extreme reading distorts the mean (analysis). With only 11 sites, each recorded once, the results may not be reliable; repeat readings at different times would show whether 88 dB was a one-off (evaluation).”

Qualitative and quantitative data, and building an argument

Quantitative data is numerical; qualitative data is descriptive (interview quotes, photographs, sketches). Primary data you collect yourself; secondary data someone else collected. The specification’s examples include maps, fieldwork data, geo-spatial data in a geographical information system (GIS) and satellite imagery. You must also identify questions and sequences of enquiry, write descriptively, analytically and critically, communicate clearly, and develop an extended argument: give a view, support it with data, and say how far the evidence supports it.

Fieldwork enquiry: the six strands (3.3.2)

All students must carry out an individual fieldwork enquiry. Practical fieldwork is the ideal, but alternative methods are accepted if they involve planning and selecting, not pre-processed data: for example, selecting internet data, raw teacher data, interviews in school or at home, or photographic and map sources. Section B tests the enquiry process in unfamiliar contexts. Section C tests your own enquiry, and you must identify its title.

Strand	What the specification lists
1 Suitable question	Choosing questions or hypotheses; underpinning theory; sources and locations; risks and how to reduce them
2 Selecting, measuring, recording	Primary versus secondary data; choosing physical and human data; sampling methods; justifying methods
3 Processing and presenting	Selecting, using and adapting visual, graphical and cartographic methods
4 Describing, analysing, explaining	Links between data sets; statistical techniques; anomalies
5 Conclusions	Evidenced conclusions linked to the original aims
6 Evaluation	Problems with methods; limits of the data; other useful data; reliability of conclusions

Exam questions can cover: planning (aims, location, hypothesis, methods); background research; health and safety; collecting primary and secondary data beyond teacher-provided data; presenting data (maps, graphs, photographs, field sketches, tables, interview quotations); statistical analysis; conclusions linked to the aims and the place; a bibliography; evaluating every stage; and taking the enquiry forward.

Sampling

• Random: every site has an equal chance; avoids bias but may miss areas.
• Systematic: regular intervals, such as every 10 m; even coverage, but misses features between points.
• Stratified: groups sampled in proportion; needs prior information.

Risk. Match each risk (deep water, tides, traffic, approaching strangers) to a precaution, such as checking tide times or working in groups.

Exam-style paragraph (evaluating your enquiry). “My enquiry asked whether river velocity increases downstream. I timed a float over 10 m at five sites, three times each (knowledge). Three repeats reduced the effect of one odd timing, and the sites covered 4 km of the stream (application). However, the float was blown by wind at the widest site, so velocity there was probably overestimated, which weakens the link I found (analysis). My conclusion is partly reliable: the trend was clear at four sites, but a flow meter and readings on a second day would make it more secure (evaluation).”

Common errors

• Giving northings before eastings.
• Mixing units in gradient (metres over centimetres).
• Dividing by the new value in percentage change.
• Finding the median without first putting the data in order.
• Joining scattergraph points instead of drawing one line of best fit.
• Naming a sampling method without saying how and why it was used.
• In Section C, writing about fieldwork in general instead of your own titled enquiry.

For exam technique, read preparing for the 9230 exams. For urban fieldwork settings, see Urban Issues and Challenges.

Official syllabus

This guide follows section 3.3 Geographical and Fieldwork skills, and the assessment details in sections 2.2 and 4.2, of the OxfordAQA International GCSE Geography (9230) specification, Version 4.3 (exams May/June 2020 onwards). The specification does not print command word definitions; your teacher will confirm the official list and the methods your class uses for calculations.