GCSE Geographical Investigation – Chapter FOUR – CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION - 750 words

Click on the link to see a project written in 2002 'Spheres of influence of two Supermarkets' - pdf document.

CONCLUSION - Accuracy of Results

Restate your hypotheses and make a judgement whether you ACCEPT or REJECT them.
Briefly, explain WHY you accept or reject the hypotheses on the basis of your analysis in chapter 3.
Identify which results support your hypothesis and give reasons.
Identify which results reject your hypothesis and give reasons.
Question the accuracy of your results.
Link any inaccuracies with problems of methodology.

CONCLUSION - Validity of Conclusions

Explain WHY your conclusions may be invalid or wrong.
Explain why your conclusions might not be applied to other similar examples.
Link any weaknesses in the conclusions to the results or methodology.
Explain what improvements could be made to the enquiry process to increase the validity of the conclusions.
TIP - Take validity to mean appropriateness.

CONCLUSION - Reliability of Methods

Have you collected enough data?
Have you had any problems collecting the data?
Have you described the disadvantages of each technique of data collection?
Would results have been more accurate if you had collected more data, different data, data at a different time or data with a different method?
How might you improve your results if you repeated the study?
What would you do to increase the reliability of the methods used?
TIP - Take reliability to mean the ability to be repeated and for similar results to be found.
Click here to see an example of a pupil fourth chapter. You will need Acrobat Reader to access this file.

MARK SCHEME - LEVEL 3 FOR 5/6 MARKS - CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
The candidate draws VALID CONCLUSIONS relating to the original purpose of the study.
The candidate describes how the enquiry process can be improved by questioning how the RELIABILITY OF THE METHODS used to collect the data have affected the ACCURACY OF THE RESULTS and the VALIDITY OF THE CONCLUSIONS.

Top tips

Word process your project

Choose a site to collect primary data near to your house

Read a good, past project to get an overview of the task ahead.

Discuss your plans with your teacher. This will save you time.

Use www.pupilvision.com for resources and writing frames for each chapter.

Download the ‘Investigation Planning Sheet’. Complete the boxes and present it to your teacher. Make a fresh copy to put in your final investigation.

Read the 'Project guidelines for pupils and teachers' page.

GEOGRAPHY INVESTIGATION. This count for 25% of your final GCSE. It should be no more than 2,500 words in length and is completed by the end of September of Year 11. Your first chapter will be completed by April of year 10. Over the coming weeks there will be new pages to guide you through each chapter of your investigation.
Click on the link to see the 'Planning Sheet'.
Click on the link to see the writing frame for 'Chapter One - Introduction.'
Click on the link to see the writing frame for 'Chapter Two - Methodology.'
Click on the link to see the writing frame for 'Chapter One - Data Interpretation'
Click on the link to see the writing frame for 'Chapter One - Conclusion and Evaluation'