Field study
Marjorie Henry, Contributor

All you students who are registered for general proficiency certification in geography must submit a school-based assessment (SBA). For this, a field study is required in which you are to indentify and define a problem, conduct an enquiry and submit a report. This field study report is your SBA. It is worth 20 per cent of the total examination marks. I will begin to discuss the SBA in today's lesson. Those of you who are in grade 11 (fifth form) should have been told about this already and, in fact, should have been working on it from grade 10 (fourth form).

The syllabus informs us that the field study is intended to:

1. Provide you with the opportunity to pursue a study of an area of special interest within the prescribed syllabus.

2. Develop self-directed learning in which you identify and define a problem, conduct an enquiry and present the findings.

3. Provide an opportunity to apply skills, knowledge and principles of the discipline to the local environment.

4. Give an opportunity for teacher involvement in the evaluation process.

All these are realised as you develop your report. In reference to the first point above, please note that the topic you are encouraged to select should be a topic in which you are particularly interested. At the same time, however, the one you choose must be taken from the current syllabus and it must be manageable.

Permit me to explain this further. If you are interested in doing a study on flooding, for example, it would be unwise to study this phenomenon for the whole island of Jamaica or even a parish. This would be too wide and certainly not manageable. You could, however, study the effects or the causes of flooding on a particular town or village; in short, a much smaller area than a parish or the entire island. There is a word limit for your study and studying a small area will also ensure that you stay within the word limit. Please note that your topic must be written as a question.

The study must be based on primary data, hence the need to conduct an enquiry as stated in the second point above. You will have to use different approaches like conducting interviews, administering questionnaires, carrying out surveys and doing observations in the field. In as much as you are required to do some reading on your chosen topic to satisfy the requirements of a bibliography, you cannot rely totally on what you have read to complete the report. This is secondary data, and you will run the risk of being charged for plagiarism or stealing ideas from someone else's work. You are allowed to work along with your classmates in your enquiry, however, your report must be an independent one - you only must do it.

Again, in reference to the syllabus, you would have observed that a timetable of activities is given for you to complete your SBA. You who are now in grade 11 should have already done the following in grade 10:

1. Decided on your topic

2. Decided on the method you will use to obtain the information needed on the topic

3. Completed the first draft of your strategy sheet.
This should have been submitted to your teacher for an assessment and possible suggestions

4. Prepared an interview schedule and/or questionnaire

5. Gone into the field to collect data.

If you have followed the schedule you should now be well on your way to developing your report. If you have not yet done all of these, you have left too much to be done in this term, thereby putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Whether or not you have done some work, there are some things that you must be careful in doing. There is, for example, the matter of the aim of your study. This must be specific and clearly stated and must be in relation to what is to be done. Avoid being vague or general. A good aim is one that allows you to do appropriate data collection and analysis. Use appropriate terms in stating your aim; verbs that will give information on the action that you plan to take. Such verbs include - to describe; to identify; to determine; to consider; to illustrate; to find out. Refer to your syllabus and identify the verbs included in the specific objectives. As far as possible, use these in stating your aim. Note also that you can have more than one aim for your study.

Marjorie Henry is an independent contributor. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com