16.1.2 Methods & Data Collection | Edexcel IGCSE Geography Revision Notes 2019

Primary & Secondary Data

Data collected by the student within their fieldwork is primary data.
Examples of primary data can include:
- Questionnaire data
- River data - width, depth etc...
- Video/audio recordings
- Photographs
- Interview information
Data collected by someone else but used by the student in their enquiry is secondary data
Examples of secondary data can include:
- Census results
- Weather data
- Old photographs
- Maps
- Newspaper articles
- Websites

	Strengths	Limitations
Primary Data	Know that the data is reliable and valid The data is specific to the enquiry As much data as needed can be collected The method of the collection is known It is up to date	Time-consuming May need specialist equipment/resources The sample size needs to be large to be accurate
Secondary Data	Easy to access Low cost or free Can be accessed quickly A large amount of data sources are available	It is not specific to the enquiry No control over the data quality Data may be biased Data may be out of date

Data which records quantities is quantitative data
Examples of quantitative data are:
- Numerical data collected in questionnaires
- Traffic counts
- Environmental quality surveys
- River data - velocity, discharge
- Weather data
Data which records descriptive information is qualitative data
Examples of qualitative data:
- Field sketches and photographs
- Non-numeric questionnaire data
- Interview answers

When collecting data via questionnaires or interviews a number of questioning types can be used:
- Closed questions where answers are limited to single words, numbers or a list of options
- Statements which use a scale to gauge people's views. For example, strongly agree/agree
- Open questions where the respondent can give any answer
Questionnaires can be used to gather a large sample of data
Interviews are more in-depth and tend to be used to gather a smaller data sample

These are used to collect data about the environmental quality of different sites
They use the judgement of the person conducting the survey to assess environmental quality against a range of indicators
- Using a sliding scale (1 -5) or bipolar scale (-3 to 3)
- Usually the lower the score the more negative the assessment of the environmental quality
They are subjective because they are based on the opinion of the person completing them
This can be reduced by:
- Completing in small groups to reach a consensus regarding the score
- Using the mode of EQS completed by a number of students
They produce quantitative data

	Strengths	Limitations
Quantitative Data	Possible to have a larger sample size Information can often be collected quickly Data collection can be duplicated More objective than qualitative data More reliable than qualitative data	The meaning behind the results is not clear Human error or equipment error can lead to mistakes in measurement
Qualitative Data	More in-depth than quantitative data More valid than quantitative data	Often a small sample size Enquiries are not easy to duplicate Difficult to make comparisons Low reliability Time-consuming