Barcelona Field Studies Centre

OCR AS/A Level GCE 2016 Geography Fieldwork

OCR AS Level Landscape and Place Geographical Debates
Weighting 55% 45%
Marks 82 68
Key areas of Content
  • Landscape Systems: coastal or glaciation or drylands
  • Changing Spaces; Making Places
  • Geographical skills
  • Fieldwork questions
  • Climate Change
  • Disease Dilemmas
  • Exploring Oceans
  • Future of Food
  • Hazardous Earth
Optionality Options within Landscape Systems Optionality: choose any 1 of 5
Skills Topic-specific
Fieldwork Fieldwork skills assessed with questions within Landscape and Place examination
Synopticity Synoptic questions in Section B
Question styles Short answer, extended response, essay questions Short answer, extended response, essay questions
OCR A Level Component Physical Systems Human Interactions Geographical Debates Investigative Geography
Weighting 22% 22% 36% 20%
Marks 66 66 108 60
Key areas of Content
  • Landscape Systems: Coastal or Glaciation or Drylands
  • Earth’s Life Support System
  • Geographical Skills
  • Changing Spaces; Making Places
  • Global Connections: Trade or Migration, Human Rights or Power
  • Geographical Skills
  • Climate Change
  • Disease Dilemmas
  • Exploring Oceans
  • Future of Food
  • Hazardous Earth
From any unit
Optionality Options within Landscape Systems Options within Global Connections Choose any 2 of 5
Skills Topic-specific Topic-specific Fieldwork skills
Synopticity Synoptic questions in Section B Embedded within assessment
Question styles Short answer, extended response, essay questions Short answer, extended response, essay questions Extended response, essay questions Project 3000-4000 words

Our field studies for the new OCR 2016 AS and A Level GCE Geography courses cover the Fieldwork and Geographical skills, including data manipulation and statistics, that students need. We support students in the development of their Independent Enquiry Question, choice of methodology and the carrying out of their Primary Data collection. Students will be provided with links to secondary data, including census information, newspaper articles and local websites and blogs.


We provide schools in advance with:

  • a fieldwork methodology student 'tool kit' of sampling and statistical methods and example worksheets tailored to our range of field studies
  • detailed background to our studies
  • links to census data and other relevant research material
  • a list of the syllabus themes that link to the studies.

A typical A Level group will undertake 2/3 human and physical studies that lend themselves to a wide range of hypotheses linked to the syllabus themes. Students then develop their own Individual Investigation titles.


OCR AS level (H081)

Fieldwork skills will be assessed within Landscape and Place and are embedded within the examination assessment. The specific elements of fieldwork which are required within AS Level Geography are outlined in the Fieldwork Skills tab.


Students will use a variety of relevant quantitative, qualitative and fieldwork skills to:

  • investigate geographical questions and issues
  • interpret, analyse and evaluate data and evidence
  • construct arguments and draw conclusions.


Fieldwork is required to be undertaken for at least 2 days including both human and physical geography.


OCR A Level (H481)

Assessment of fieldwork skills will be within the Investigative Geography component only. The specific elements of fieldwork which are required within A Level Geography are outlined in the Fieldwork Skills tab.


Students will use a variety of relevant quantitative, qualitative and fieldwork skills to:

  • investigate geographical questions and issues
  • interpret, analyse and evaluate data and evidence
  • construct arguments and draw conclusions.


Fieldwork is required to be undertaken for at least 4 days including both human and physical geography.


The descriptions in the table below specify the level of independence required by students at different stages of their investigation.

Investigation stage Level of independence In Practice
Exploring focus Collaboration allowed. Students may discuss together, and with their teacher, ideas and research for appropriate geographical questions. Students have a free choice of investigations focusing on any of the compulsory or optional content and they may be provided with a range of themes.
Title of the investigation, focus of investigation (sub-questions), purpose of investigation. Independent work Students must provide a clear justification and contextualisation of how their enquiry will help them to address their title and explore their theme.
Devising methodology and sampling framework Collaboration allowed Students may collaborate when planning and selecting methodologies / sampling strategies
Primary data collection Collaboration allowed Primary data collection may be carried out individually or in groups.
Secondary data collection Independent work Students select secondary sources of data on their own.
Data/information presentation Independent work Students select and use appropriate data presentation methods on their own.
Data analysis and explanation Independent work Students select and use appropriate data analysis techniques and independently interpret and analyse the results.
Conclusions and evaluation Independent work Students evaluate the findings of their investigation and reach a balanced and supported conclusion on their own.

OCR AS Level Geography requires learners to:
a) identify appropriate field research questions, based on their knowledge and understanding of relevant aspects of physical and human geography
b) understand how to observe and record phenomena in the field and be able to devise and justify practical approaches taken in the field, (including frequency/timing of observation, sampling, and data collection approaches)
c) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how to undertake practical field methodologies appropriate to the investigation of core human and physical processes
d) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of implementing chosen methodologies to collect data/information of good quality that is relevant to the topic under investigation
e) apply existing knowledge and concepts to identify, order and understand field observations
f) show the ability to write a coherent analysis of fieldwork findings and results in order to answer a specific geographical question and to justify conclusions
g) evaluate and reflect on fieldwork investigations.


OCR A Level Geography requires learners to:
a) define the research questions which underpin field investigations
b) research relevant literature sources and understand and write up the theoretical or comparative context for a research question
c) observe and record phenomena in the field and devise and justify practical approaches taken in the field including frequency/timing of observation, sampling, and data collection approaches
d) demonstrate practical knowledge and understanding of appropriate field methodologies
e) implement chosen methodologies to collect data/information of good quality and relevant to the topic under investigation
f) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the techniques appropriate for analysing field data and information and for representing results, and show ability to select suitable quantitative or qualitative approaches and to apply them
g) demonstrate the ability to interrogate and critically examine field data in order to comment on its accuracy and/or the extent to which it is representative, and use the experience to extend geographical understanding
h) apply existing knowledge, theory and concepts to order and understand field observations
i) show the ability to write up field results clearly and logically, using a range of presentation methods
j) evaluate and reflect on fieldwork investigations, explain how the results relate to the wider context and show an understanding of the ethical dimensions of field research
k) demonstrate the ability to write a coherent analysis of fieldwork findings in order to answer a specific geographical question and to do this drawing effectively on evidence and theory to make a well-argued case.

OCR A Level Geography Independent Investigation Option A

OCR A Level Geography Independent Investigation Option B

OCR FIELD STUDY OPTIONS STUDY LOCATION SPECIFICATION THEMES
Coastal Landscapes
Coastal landscapes Sitges The formation of distinctive coastal landforms of erosion and deposition.
Coastal landforms Sitges Case studies of one high energy coastline and one low energy coastline to illustrate the physical factors which influence the formation of landforms within the landscape system and the inter-relationship of a range of landforms within the characteristic landscape system.
Coastal management strategies Sitges Case study of one coastal landscape that is being managed, including:
  • the management strategy being implemented and the reason for its implementation
  • the consequence of these changes on the landscape, such as extension of the coastal landscape seawards.
Beach morphology Sitges The effect of coastal management in changing coastal landforms, such as changes in beach profiles
Sediment budgets Sitges The impacts of coastal management on processes and flows of material and/or energy through the coastal system, such as their effect on the sediment budget
Coastal development impact Sitges Case study of one coastal landscape that is being used by people to illustrate:
  • the economic development taking place and the reasons for it taking place
  • their unintentional impacts on processes and flows of material and/or energy through the coastal system
  • the effect of these impacts in changing coastal landforms, such as beach profiles
  • the consequence of these changes on the landscape, such as coastal retreat or protection.
Glaciated Landscapes
Study under development Pyrenees Case study of a landscape associated with the action of valley glaciers.
Dryland Landscapes
Study under development Tabernas desert, Almería The physical factors which influence the formation of landforms within the dryland landscape system.
Earth's Life support Systems
Carbon sequestration Mas Mel, Calafell The processes of the carbon cycle, including natural sequestration in vegetation.
Changing Spaces, Making Places
To what extent do the place profiles of two inner city areas differ? El Raval and 22@ New Technologies District, Barcelona. Demographic, socio-economic, cultural, political, built and natural environment characteristics of two contrasting local areas.
The impact of shifting flows on two contrasting inner city districts El Raval and 22@ New Technologies District, Barcelona How shifting flows of people, resources, money and investment and ideas (such as knowledge economy) have helped shape the demographic, socio-economic and cultural profile of these places over time.
Impact of de-industrialisation 22@ New Technologies District Processes of economic change can create opportunities for some while creating and exacerbating social inequality for others.
Social inequality Barcelona Case studies of two contrasting places to illustrate:
  • the types of evidence of social inequality that can be found there such as housing, environmental quality, crime rates, digital divide
  • the range of factors that influence people’s social inequality such as income, gender, age, health, personal mobility, ethnicity and education
  • how social inequality impacts upon people’s daily lives in different ways.
Urban rebranding El Raval, Barcelona Case study of one place that has undergone rebranding, including:
  • why the place needed to rebrand
  • strategy/strategies involved in the rebranding of the place
  • the role and influence of a range of players involved in the placemaking
  • how the rebranding has altered people’s perception of that place
  • the relative success of the rebranding.
Rural rebranding Priorat Case study of one place that has undergone rebranding, including:
  • why the place needed to rebrand
  • strategy/strategies involved in the rebranding of the place
  • the role and influence of a range of players involved in the placemaking
  • how the rebranding has altered people’s perception of that place
  • the relative success of the rebranding.
Hazardous Earth
Volcanic landforms and landscapes Garrotxa Different types of volcanoes to investigate their causes and features including:
  • explosive eruptions
  • size and shape of different types of volcanoes
  • Different types of volcanic eruptions and the different types of hazards they generate
Earthquake landforms and landscapes Garrotxa
  • Earthquake characteristics to investigate their causes and features
  • the effects earthquakes have on landforms and landscapes

AQA AS/A Level GCE 2016 Geography Fieldwork
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