The Rural Fieldwork Task
Villages change too, and not always for the better. In the rural fieldwork task you collect your own data about how a rural settlement is changing, from counting people to asking what residents think.
Use it, the way the marks are given
Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
The changing village
Rural settlements change as well as cities. Some lose young people and services, while others grow as people move out from the towns. In the rural fieldwork task you collect your own data to investigate how a rural settlement is changing. This module is about the methods you would use.
Rural fieldwork words
Four ideas run through this topic:
What is it about?
What does the rural fieldwork task investigate?
- How a rural settlement is changing
- How rocks form deep underground
- The weather forecast for next week
- The discharge of a mountain river
Two kinds of method
Good fieldwork uses both kinds of method.
Method and data
- Counting people at set times
- Counting shops and services
- A questionnaire
- ONS Neighbourhood Statistics
- The flow of people through the settlement
- How service provision is changing
- The views of local residents
- Secondary data on population and age
How a village changes
Some rural settlements suffer depopulation as young people leave and services such as shops and buses decline. Others gain residents who move out from the cities, or fill up with second homes. Choose methods that capture both the numbers and what residents think of the change.
Which are quantitative?
Which THREE of these are quantitative methods?
- A people-flow count
- A vehicle count
- Counting the services in the village
- A personal opinion about the village
- A field sketch
Average the counts
A student counts the people passing a spot at five times: 5, 8, 2, 4 and 1. The mean = total / number of counts. What is the mean count? Enter the number only.
Run the enquiry
Put the stages of the rural enquiry in a sensible order.
- Write an enquiry question about the settlement
- Collect primary and secondary data
- Present the data as maps and charts
- Analyse and explain the changes
- Draw an evidenced conclusion
True or not?
Tap the TWO statements that describe good fieldwork.
- Count people at several different times to be more reliable.
- Use ONS data alongside your own primary data.
- Judge the whole village from one short visit.
- Ignore what the residents think.
- Only opinions matter, so count nothing.
Complete the idea
The rural fieldwork task investigates _____ in a settlement. Counting the _____ of people is a quantitative method, while a _____ records the views of residents. _____ data from the ONS gives background on population. Sampling at several _____ makes the results more reliable.
Whose views?
Which method best records what local residents think of the changes?
- A questionnaire asking for their views
- Counting the number of cars
- A people-flow count
- Reading an old map
Pick the method
A student plans a rural enquiry. Choose the best method at each step.
- To measure how busy the settlement is, which method?
- To find out what residents think of the changes, which method?
- To add background on the ageing population, which source?
Plan it
Plan a rural fieldwork enquiry into how a rural settlement is changing.
- Write a suitable enquiry question
- Describe one quantitative and one qualitative method you would use
- Name a secondary source and what it would add
- Explain how you would present and check your data