1. GEOGRAPHICAL INVESTIGATION
What you need to know

2. BY THE END OF THE LESSON
We will be able to
1. Know the basic requirements of conducting
a geographical investigation.

3. REQUIREMENTS OF A GI
1. Formulating a hypothesis
2. Sampling methods, pros and cons
3. Sampling instruments
– Questionnaires, instruments, land use surveys.
4. Safety precautions during fieldwork
5. Ways to present data, pros and cons
6. Evaluating reliability of data
7. Weather instruments (4E Elective Geography
only)

4. FORMULATING A HYPOTHESIS
• A hypothesis allow you to decide on the
purpose of the investigation
• Expressed as a statement that can be rejected
or accepted.
• A valid hypothesis can be tested and proven
by the data collected from fieldwork.

5. SAMPLING METHODS
1. Random sampling
2. Systematic simply
3. Stratified sampling

6. RANDOM SAMPLING
• When a large survey population is available
for study.
• Each sample is randomly selected and
entirely by chance,
• such that each sample has the same
probability of being chosen.
• Reduce human biases.
• Simple to use.
• Short time in the field.

7. SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
• When a homogenous population is available
for study.
• Each sample is selected with regular intervals
in between e.g. every nth person/pebble.
• Reduce human biases.
• Simple to use.
• Short time in the field.

8. STRATIFIED SAMPLING
• When there are subgroups in the survey
population.
• Stratification is the process of dividing members
of the population into homogeneous subgroups
before sampling.
• Random sampling or systematic sampling can be
applied to each subgroup before sampling.
• Ensures equal representation across subgroups.
• Hard to use.
• May create classification errors.
• Requires more planning and time in the field.

9. SAMPLING INSTRUMENTS
• Questionnaires
– Quantitative vs. Qualitative items
• Instruments,
– Wind vane, rain gauge, barometer

10. SAMPLING INSTRUMENTS
• Land use surveys
– Study the shops along the designated street
– Calculate the length of the shops
– Take photographs of the shops
– Indicate the goods and services
– Shade similar types of shops with same colour
– Include the a legend to explain the colour
codes

11. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
• Observe changes to the environmental
conditions such as weather.
• Always work in groups.
• Listen carefully to instructions.
• Seek the teacher’s permission if there is a
need to leave the fieldwork site.
• Collect the contact details of the teacher and
group mates.

12. WAYS TO PRESENT DATA
• Table
• Simple line graphs
– Contain one dependent variable and one
independent variable
• Comparative line graphs
– Consists more than one dependent variable
• Compound line graphs
– Consists two or more subsets of a set of data

13. WAYS TO PRESENT DATA
• Simple bar graphs
– Contain one dependent variable and one
independent variable
• Comparative bar graphs
– Compares two or more sets of data
• Compound bar graphs
– Consists two or more subsets of a set of data
• Pie charts
• Scatter graphs

14. QUESTION
• What are the pros and cons of presenting data
in the following ways.
– Table
– Line graphs
– Bar graphs
– Pie charts

15. EVALUATING RELIABILITY OF DATA
• Inaccessibility to some areas may result in
unequal collection of samples.
• Data is more accurate if there are a greater
number of collection sites and data is
collected more frequently.
• Unusual weather conditions may skew data
collected.
• Parallax error when reading off an instrument
will produce inaccurate results.