Gathering information

Introduction

The role of a geographer is to ask questions about the Earth's physical and human (cultural) environment. Geographers explore how people and places interact with each other, as well as why and in what ways they change over time. To find answers to these questions, geographers need to gather different types of information. This chapter explains several common techniques used by geographers to learn about people and places in the world.

Observation and classification

One of the most important skills needed by a geographer is the ability to be observant. By being observant, a person is highly aware of what is happening around him or her. Observation relies on the use of the five human senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

Not everyone is naturally observant. There are ways, however, in which people can work to improve their observation skills. The best way to improve observational skills is through practise. This may involve going outdoors or simply looking at a picture of a landscape. A person then needs to question what he or she is looking at. The person should ask a number of questions, including what features stand out the most in the scene and why. The less obvious parts of the scene are also important and should also be considered. Aspects including size, shape, location, colour, age and type all need to be investigated when making observations.

When making observations it is important to be able to sort and classify related features into groups. In geography, one of the first steps in classification is often determining whether something is a physical feature (made by nature) or a cultural feature (made by humans). It is generally accepted that glaciers and volcanoes are examples of physical features, while towns and farms are cultural features. Classification, however, is not always this clear-cut. As knowledge and technology improves, physical features including rivers, lakes and even islands, are now being artificially constructed by humans. See image 1

Interviews and questionnaires

To assist in answering questions about the world, geographers often obtain information from other people. Since there are many people with a special understanding of a particular topic, their knowledge and opinions can be important resources.

There are two main ways in which geographers seek information from people: interviews and questionnaires. Interviews are usually conducted in person, in the form of a conversation, and involve a person or a group of people questioning another person. When conducted for the purpose of geographical study, interviews are used to elicit information.

When interviewing a person, planning is important. Questions need to be prepared before the interview. The questions should be structured so that they are easy to understand, not biased (inclined to a certain point of view) and provide for a more detailed answer than 'yes' or 'no.' It is often a good idea to take notes of the person's responses, so that they are not forgotten later. Students should also remember that an interview only give's the interviewee's perspective. While the information provided by the interviewee can be useful, it is not necessarily factual. See image 2

Questionnaires are different from interviews. Questionnaires are usually written lists of questions designed to gain statistical information from a number of people. Responses from questionnaires are often analysed to see if any statistical patterns emerge. Questionnaires are surveys (gatherings of information considered to be representative of a whole) which are completed by the respondent (person who responds).

Counting and measuring surveys

Surveys collect quantitative (relating to the measuring of quantity) information from a group of people, which are considered to be representative of the whole. There are many different types of surveys, including sample surveys (only involving a sample of the population), longitudinal surveys (collecting from the same point over a period of time) and cross-sectional surveys (collecting from a new sample at the same point over a period of time). Surveys can be conducted in person, on the telephone, by mail and online. The relative inexpensiveness, convenience and effectiveness of surveys mean that they are not only useful in geography but also in market research, official statistical purposes and political polling.

Two popular types of surveys used in geography are counting and measuring surveys. Counting surveys involve the counting of objects such as cars, animals and people. Counting surveys can be used, for example, to determine traffic levels on particular roads at certain times of the day and week. This information is often useful for governments, for example, that may want to assess whether the road will be able to withstand the demands placed on it.

Measuring surveys are also simple to conduct. They do, however, require measuring equipment such as tape measures to provide accurate results. There are many different properties which can be measured in surveys. These include length, height, size, temperature, speed, weight and volume. A measuring survey could be used to show how much a tree is growing, by measuring its height throughout the year. See image 3