Fieldwork Enquiry Verdict ★
Enquiry: What does our evidence support about place—and what stops us claiming more?
Learning objective: I can independently construct and evaluate a fieldwork enquiry using question, method, data, analysis, conclusion and limitations.
Vocabulary: hypothesis · method · result · analysis · evidence · anomaly · correlation · conclusion · reliability · validity · evaluation · limitation · causation · improvement
Lesson 6 of 6 frozen evidence pack · supplied classroom route
Enquiry: How do environmental quality and pedestrian activity vary with distance from the fictional Transit Gate?
Method record: Six sites at 120 m systematic intervals; three equal 3-minute pedestrian-count trials; litter, traffic pressure, vegetation cover and external upkeep each scored from −2 to +2; same recording fields at every site. Constructed observations represent one simulated period.
| Indicator | −2 | −1 | 0 | +1 | +2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litter | heavy / widespread | some in several places | mixed / unclear | little / isolated | none visible |
| Traffic pressure | continuous / very high | frequent / high | intermittent / mixed | occasional / low | none / very low |
| Vegetation cover | none | sparse | limited / mixed | moderate | abundant |
| External upkeep | poor / widespread disrepair | several visible issues | mixed | maintained / good | very high |
Additional plotted indices: Green /5 runs from 1 = very little visible vegetation to 5 = abundant visible vegetation. Noise /5 runs from 1 = very quiet/low audible traffic to 5 = very loud/continuous audible traffic.
Definitions: reliability = consistency/repeatability of results; validity = how well the method and evidence answer the enquiry. A result can be repeatable without measuring the intended idea well.
| Site | Distance | Count 1 | Count 2 | Count 3 | Mean | EQS (−8 to +8) | Green /5 | Noise /5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transit Gate | 0 m | 58 | 63 | 61 | 60.7 | -5 | 1 | 5 |
| Market Link | 120 m | 49 | 46 | 50 | 48.3 | -3 | 1 | 4 |
| Civic Crossing | 240 m | 38 | 42 | 40 | 40.0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Riverside Walk | 360 m | 26 | 29 | 27 | 27.3 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Park Edge | 480 m | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18.0 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Housing Green | 600 m | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12.0 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
Selected Lesson 5 context · not direct transect evidence
Evidence status: these place-comparison values provide context only. They cannot confirm, explain or cause the Transit Gate transect pattern because the places, boundaries and methods differ from the six fieldwork sites.
Matched Lesson 5 methods: density = residents per km² inside each fictional administrative boundary; bus departures = weekday scheduled departures 07:00–19:00 from stops within 400 m of each centre; service employment = working residents using the same broad category.
| Matched 2025 indicator | Riverside East | Dalehaven |
|---|---|---|
| Population density | 3,200/km² | 180/km² |
| Scheduled bus departures, 07:00–19:00 | 48 | 8 |
| Service employment | 60% | 58% |
Frozen boundary: use only this pack or the centre-approved equivalent agreed before start. During protected work, no new evidence, model answer or content prompt is introduced.