A-level Independent Investigation Guidance Booklet

NOTE: You will not

be penalised for going over 4000 words so you don’t need to worry too much about the word count. Note that the
contents page, reference list and appendix are not included in a word count.

Route to enquiry

1
What I (your teacher) can, must and must not do for you
(See page 70 of the specification for more detail)

I can:

 provide broad parameters for your investigation proposal (including themes from the specification,
locations, availability of equipment, time constraints);
 advise on health and safety considerations, the use of equipment and potential ethical concerns.
 discuss with you your initial exploratory planning and tentative investigation titles.

I must:

 approve your title and give general guidance on the methodology and analytical tools that you plan to use.
 Help you complete the Geography Independent Investigation Form – this will be submitted with your final
investigation

I must not:

 Tell you a title to investigate- it is your independent investigation!

 Mark your work and give detailed feedback about how to improve to meet the assessment criteria. I can
however tell you what sections may need improving (but cannot give details about exactly what these
amendments should be)
 Mark work provisionally and then share the mark so that you can improve it
 Return work to you after it has been submitted and marked

Levels of independence summary

2
 Independent Investigation Form
Before you start your investigation the exam board requires you to complete an Independent Investigation
Proposal Form. Candidates use this section to detail their title, hypotheses and/or questions and/or sub
questions, enquiry route, suggested methods of data collection and suggestions of analytical tools. Your
teacher then checks and approves your investigation form before you start your research.
This form will then be attached to the front of your final write-up so it needs to be kept safe.

Suggestions of how to write up your Independent Investigation

Also see:
 The RGS Guide for more guidance: https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/a-student-guide-to-
the-a-level-independent-investi/
 eQE page which includes all the lesson PowerPoints (with hyperlinks)
https://eqe.fireflycloud.net/geography-3/a-level/independent-investigation-or-non-exam-assessment-nea

Chapter 1: Purpose of investigation

Approx. suggested word count = 1200

The first section of your Independent Investigation should introduce the reader to what your research will aim to do
and give a focus to your whole research process.

Follow this guidance with regards to the contents you need to include. You do not need to include sub-headings or
include the information in the order in the table below-just ensure it is included somewhere in this chapter!

Tick
when
done 
Aim of study One of the first things you can do in your introduction is state the Aim of the Study
– briefly explain what is the thing you hope to achieve.

Geographical Before stating your sub- questions or hypotheses, provide the geographical
context context to your study through a discussion of what you have read in your
background reading. Citing from a wide range of sources (aim for at least 5), you
should aim to cover most of the following:

• Show what is already known about your topic by geographers

• Show any models or theories in relation to your topic
• Suggest why it is important to study this particular topic

In order to avoid plagiarism, it is important to remember to reference any

published work which you are using in this section using the Harvard Referencing
System.

Sub questions If well written and comprehensive, the previous section should naturally lead the
(or Hypotheses) reader to consider the sub-questions (or hypotheses). Ensure it is clear what your
rationale (justification) is for each of your chosen sub questions/ hypotheses.

3
 Justification for The introduction must include an overall justification for the investigation. This
the Investigation should explain to the reader why it is important that studies such as yours are
done and what value they might hold in the wider geographical world.

Location The location of your study should be explained and justified. This should be done
through a written description as well as visually through a series of linked maps,
showing the location of the research at increasingly more detailed scales.

Chapter 2: Methodology
Approx. suggested word count = 1000

The purpose of this section is to explain how and why you collected your primary and secondary data. You need to
include the following:

Tick
when
done 
a) A detailed, Include information such as the time, date, how many pieces of data did you
step-by-step collected, how long you spent collecting that data etc. Include a justification
description of of the decisions you made. You also need to explain and justify your design of
how you surveys e.g. what criteria did you include in your EQS and why?
carried out
each method
you used.

b) Sampling Include the sampling technique for each method i.e. what type of sampling
techniques did you use and why did you use it? E.g.
random/systematic/stratified/convenience sampling. You may want to
include a map showing the location of your sampling points.

c) Ensuring Comment on how you ensured the data you collected was reliable and
reliability and accurate. This may include reference to a pilot study you conducted.
accuracy

d) Justification of Justification of the method which explains which hypothesis/sub questions it

methods helps you answer

e) Risk See sample layout below

assessment
f) Ethical Comment on the ethical considerations regarding your data collection. What
considerations did you need to bear in mind before, whilst and after your data collection?
Remember ethical concerns mean moral issues. You might want to think
about privacy, accessing private information, publishing information that
might be private, using under 16 year olds in your questionnaires, asking
proving questions to locals and causing offence etc.

4
A-D of the above could all be displayed in a table. For example, see below (but don’t just copy the column headings
below, think of your own)

Name of technique
Method: How carried
out
Sampling + justification
Reliability and accuracy
Purpose (why used-
make clear link to a
sub-Q)

Risk assessment-this could also be laid out in a table. For example:

Risk Probability of Severity Solution

occurrence

Examples may Choose from: Choose from: Examples may include:

include:
• Unlikely • Inconvenience -Let someone know where you
-Getting lost • Rarely • Minor injury are
• Infrequently • Injury/illness
-Causing offence -Check mobile phone reception
• Sometimes • Major injury
or receiving abuse
• Often • Fatality -Carry a map
from members of
public -Wear appropriate clothing and
footwear
-Working beside
busy roads

Other things to note:

-You may include photographs / diagrams in your methodology section to complement your written work. For
example, annotated photographs of you conducting your fieldwork.

-Remember that you can refer to literature in this chapter to justify the methodological decisions you made

-Write this chapter in the past tense as you’ll be writing it after you’ve collected the data

- If you carried out techniques such as questionnaires, EQS it is expected that you’d include a copy of these surveys
so it can be seen what they look like. They can be included in this chapter or in the Appendix.

Chapter 3: Data Presentation and Analysis

Approx. suggested word count = 2500

This is where you present the main findings of your research (primary and secondary) and analyse what each piece
of data shows in relation to your research questions/hypothesis.

How you present the data will depend on the type of data you have collected. You will probably present most data
using a combination of graphic (graphs, images, tables and infographics) or cartographic (map) techniques. But aim

5
to include a range (at least 3) of appropriate presentation techniques with one of them being a more sophisticated
technique e.g. using GIS. Where possible display data geographically (geo-located) i.e. on a map!

Check to ensure that for each graph etc. you have displayed them clearly e.g. labelled the x and y axes; included a
scale; north arrows; each graph has a title and figure number.

You first need to decide how this chapter should be laid out. You could use your sub-questions / hypotheses as sub-
headings, presenting each relevant set of results under the appropriate sub-heading.

For each piece of data you have presented you need to analyse it. This consists of the following linked activities:

• Description and analysis: Describe what the data shows. First refer to the main (overall) pattern first. Next
refer to any minor patterns. Then identify any anomalies (data that does not fit the main pattern). For each
step use data to give evidence. Consider what techniques you could use, perhaps numerical or statistical, to
examine the data e.g. range, mean, percentage change etc.

• Explanation: Provide likely geographical reasons linked to the patterns and trend in your data-including
possible explanations for any anomalies. Refer to particular geographical models or theories. You can refer
back to the studies you mentioned in your literature review to state whether your findings agree with or
contradict them.

o Make it clear what your data shows overall in relation to the sub question / hypothesis it is being used to
answer i.e. does it prove or disprove it?

o Note if the pattern shown in this piece of data shows the same results as have been gained from other data
collection techniques e.g. does your EQS and your photographs display the same results-what are the
connections between different data sets?

Chapter 4: Conclusion and Evaluation

Approx. suggested word count = 1800

The purpose of writing a conclusion is to consider the evidence from your whole study in order to draw out the most
significant features from that evidence and arrive at an overall conclusion in relation to your title/aim (as opposed to
just focusing on your sub-questions / hypotheses as you did in the analysis section). Remember these important
tips when writing the conclusion:
 It is important at this stage to only draw on information seen in the analysis section: no new data or theories
should be presented in the conclusion.
 The conclusion should be well sequenced and all reasoning should be logical and sound. The researcher can
only conclude what their results tell them, even though it is very tempting to make cognitive ‘leaps of faith’
in your arguments.

You then move on to your evaluation section. Your evaluation should apply to the whole of your investigation-from
the Purpose of Investigation to the Conclusion. Remember, it is wrong to think that by highlighting the problems
with your research, you are somehow admitting that you made mistakes and will be marked down for it. In fact, the
opposite is true: most research, even at the highest academic level is imperfect. Not admitting that your study has
limitations is naïve: the marker of your study will be looking to see that you recognise these problems and have tried
to either resolve them or reduce their impact.

6
Go through the following stages when writing this chapter:

Tick when
done 
Review your title/ First briefly summarise your answers to your sub-questions/ hypotheses. Then
aim state your overall conclusion in relation to your title /aim of study. (Remember,
conclusions are often ambiguous. This is not an admission of failure. Most often
it arises because geographical environments and processes are complex.)
Consider the a) Where within your area of study did you choose to collect data? Could the
strengths and sample be accused of being unrepresentative or biased?
limitations of your b) For each data collection method, consider:
sampling
techniques and i. How accurate/reliable/valid were the results you gained from
methods using this method?
ii. What limitations were there? What were the sources of error
(see below*)?
iii. How has each source of error affected your results?

*What are the sources of error?

i. Measurement error: mistakes made when collecting the data
(such as someone misreading a clinometer)
ii. Operator error: differences in the results collected by different
people (such as different people giving different environmental
quality scores)
iii. Sampling error: where a sample is biased. Some elements of
the population are less likely to be included than others

Establishing the Based on the limitations of your results (as explained above), to what extent
significance of would you therefore consider your conclusion to be partial, tentative and/ or
your conclusion incomplete?
Consider the Comment on the wider geographical significance of your study. For example,
usefulness or does it challenge, or does it confirm, other research/theories on the topic?
relevance of the How do your findings compare to studies in similar areas? Where the results
investigation contradict the theory look at the particular circumstances of the study and
offer possible reasons why it might not match the preconceived models. There
may be many reasons why the results from a study might not follow an
expected pattern: from errors in the methodology to site specific factors. It is
vital that you do not reject your findings simply because they do not match
what you have read in a textbook – some of the best Independent
Investigations are those where the results appear ‘wrong’ but the geographer
sees the local geography as a defining factor in what made the results what
they are. Consider the following questions:
1) Who may be interested in your research and for what reasons?
2) How has your investigation furthered your understanding of this
area of Geography?

Consider the This means you think about the ethical impact you, as a researcher, have had
ethical problems on people and the environment within your study, as well as the impact
associated with ethically that your study and the nature of your research has had more broadly.
your research (if For example, what could be the ethical implications of your research findings?
you haven’t Did the way in which you collected the data, because of ethical considerations,
already done this impact your conclusions and evidence base? Were there any ethical issues that
fully in earlier you did not account for in the planning section that posed a problem during
7
 chapters) your investigation?

Consider how the a) Comment on additions that you might make to the existing study in order to
investigation make your conclusions more certain (improvements)
could be
improved and b) Comment on the ways your study could be expanded (possible extensions).
extended
For example, what gaps are there in your research and what opportunities are
there for future researchers to use your NEA as a starting point for further
fieldwork investigations?

Chapter 6: Reference List

In most formal research there is a standard method for referencing known as Harvard Style Referencing – and this is
the method you should adopt for your Independent Investigation. This method, along with an accompanying
Reference List allows the reader to find the exact source from which you found the idea and is essential to avoid
accusations of plagiarism.

A reference list is a list of all the sources that have been cited (quoted/mentioned) in the investigation. The list is
inclusive showing books, journals, etc., listed in one list, not in separate lists according to source type.

To understand how to reference and to layout your reference list see one of the following:

 http://www.citethisforme.com/harvard-referencing
 https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/library/public/
Harvard guide-2022.pdf

TIP: If you note down a quote or make notes on a particular issue ensure you keep a record of the source of your
reading. There is nothing more annoying than having a great quote you want to use but you can’t remember which
source it’s from!

Chapter 7: Appendix
The final chapter of your investigation is your Appendix. It is not included in your word count.

What’s the role of an appendix?

In the main body of your write-up it’s important that you provide clear and concise information that supports your
argument. However, you’ll often find that you have a lot of further information about your topic that would be
useful to share with the reader. Any detailed information that is not immediately needed to make your point can go
in an appendix. This helps to keep your main text focused and not unnecessarily long.

Items to include

An appendix can be used for different types of information, including the following:

 Results: Research results are often presented in different ways, including tables and figures. However, which
results should you put in the main body of your investigation and which should go in an appendix? The main
results that are relevant to your research question should always appear in the main text. Less significant
results, such as detailed descriptions of your sample or supplemental analyses that you undertook (that do
not help answer your main question), can be put in an appendix.

8
  Further information on surveys, interviews, etc.: Written materials related to things such as surveys and
interview transcripts can also be put in an appendix. It’s important to include these items in your
investigation, so readers can see what you have based your conclusions on – but they generally do not
belong in the main body of the text.
 Tables, figures and other graphics: You may find you have too many tables, figures and other graphics (such
as charts and illustrations) to include in the main body of your investigation. If this is the case, any that aren’t
critical can go in an appendix.

How to format an appendix

Start each appendix (i.e. each piece of information) on a new page and assign it both a number and a clear title, such
as “Appendix 1. Interviews transcripts”. This makes it easier for the reader to find the appendix as well as for you to
refer to it in your main text.

Referring to an appendix in the main body of your write-up

This can be done by mentioning the appendix and its number either in parentheses or within the main part of a
sentence. For example:

The interview (see Appendix 1) revealed that…

Appendix 2 presents the correspondence exchanged with company X.

Final checks
 Include an attractive looking title/cover page which includes the following information

o Queen Elizabeth’s School

o Centre Number: 12270
o Candidate number:
o Geography Independent Investigation – 9GEO/04
o The title of your investigation
o Your full name
o Date of completion = 2023
o Word Count =

 Include a contents page where you name each chapter title and the page number it starts on (each chapter
of your investigation should begin on a new page).

 Insert the following details on each page as a header or footer:

o Centre number 12270 / Candidate number= ? / 9GEO/04

 You must present your work as follows:

o word processed in Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman
o in font size 12
o it can be printed double-sided or single-sided
o with all pages numbered

 Everything in your study which is not text, such as graphics, photographs, presentations of data and tables
should be assigned a figure number. This is normally written just below each graphic and they should run in
numerical order from the start of the study to the end. Figure numbers make it useful to refer to a graphic
when it does not appear on the same page as the text in which it is referred.
9
 Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Also check your use of geographical terminology. The marker
will expect to see geographical terms used frequently and accurately throughout the study.

 The Edexcel ‘Geography independent investigation form’ will be attached to the front of your investigation

Mark scheme for Purpose of investigation

10
Mark Scheme for Methodology

11
Mark Scheme for Data Presentation, analysis and interpretation

12
Mark Scheme for Conclusion and evaluation – with credit for the quality of your overall investigation

13
14