A LEVEL GEOGRAPHY

Writing a proposal form for your Independent Investigation

Start of your investigation

Your proposal form is a planning document and it’s
intended to help you pull your ideas together. Start with the end in mind with your investigation
i.e. what do you want to find out and why?
You can then look at the ‘big picture’ and think about
your investigation overall.

Your proposal does not have to be perfect. Your teacher can support you as Before you start investigating - what do you think is the answer to your
you start to plan, and they will sign off your form before you get going. investigation?

Getting started with your proposal form
Title - What are you going to
investigate?
How does your title link to the
specification?
Example: To what extent are groynes the most effective coastal management
strategy in Sheringham?
There are a few different types of hard engineering strategies being used in Sheringham
to manage coastal erosion. Groynes show the differences in beach height either side, they
are therefore trapping sediment from longshore drift. They are visibly stopping erosion.

The enquiry process

What is the geographical location of your investigation? How will you break your
investigation down i.e. what sub-questions/sub-hypotheses will you have? The A Level investigation follows an enquiry process. This gives you a structure
to follow - find out more
Your ideas will evolve (change) as you learn more about the place and the topic you are
investigating. This is normal and part of the enquiry process.

What information and data will you collect? How much of this will be out ‘in the field’ As you find out more (research and data collection), you may discount some
(primary data) or from research (secondary data)? How much data will you collect and information/data that doesn’t help you answer your investigation title.
how often (sampling strategy)?

+
E.g. This will help your understanding for
= each section of the proposal form. See
student guide and the infographics for
support.
Research Thinking
www.ocr.org.uk/geography © OCR 2020
 Geography
Geography
A Level Geography Independent Investigation
Geography
Proposal Form
A Level Geography Independent Investigation
A
A Level
Level Geography
Geography Independent
Independent Investigation
Investigation
Session Year Proposal Form
June Proposal
Proposal Form
Form
Centre Name Centre Number
Session June Year
Session NameJune
Candidate
Session June Year
Year Candidate Number
Centre Name Centre Number
Centre
Centre Name
Name Proposal form support Centre Number
Centre Number
Investigation
Candidate NameTitle How the title links to the specification content Candidate Number
Candidate
Candidate NameName Here are some ideas to help you complete your proposal form. Candidate Number
Candidate Number
Investigation Title How the title links to the specification content
Investigation
Investigation Title
Title How the
Howthe title
title links
theprimarylinks to
to the
the specification
specification content
content
Planned investigation hypothesis or question, investigation sub-questions, and the geographical area where data collection will take place.
Your title needs a geographical (topic/theme) and spatial (location) context. Is it a genuine Where does your investigation link to the specification? This could be more than one topic.
geographical issue that you can investigate to find an answer?
Planned investigation hypothesis or question, investigation sub-questions, and the geographical area where the primary data collection will take place.
Planned investigation
Planned investigation hypothesis
hypothesis or
or question,
question, investigation
investigation sub-questions,
sub-questions, and
and the
the geographical
geographical area
area where
where the
the primary
primary data
data collection
collection will
will take
take place.
place.
Your sub-questions enable you to break your title down and look at aspects of it in more depth. You could have 2-4 sub-questions. Each sub-question/hypothesis should be an answerable
Investigation
question focus - indication
or testable hypothesisof how
that the enquiry
is clear andwill address theso
well-defined investigation
that you cantitle
doand
theexplore theneeded
research theme inwithin
relation
antoappropriate
the chosen geographical
time frame. area.
Your investigation will have a spatial context and it is here you will collect primary and potentially secondary data to help answer your question – why did you chose this location?
Investigation focus - indication of how the enquiry will address the investigation title and explore the theme in relation to the chosen geographical area.
Investigation
Investigation focus
focus -- indication
indication of
of how
how the
the enquiry
enquiry will
will address
address the
the investigation
investigation title
title and
and explore
explore the
the theme
theme in
in relation
relation to
to the
the chosen
chosen geographical
geographical area.
area.
You will need to do some reading for this section as you need to understand a little more about your chosen topic and location of your investigation. This is where you start to shape your
Planned
thinkingmethodology
about what–itindication
is you wantof qualitative
to research and/or quantitative
and why? Why havetechniques including
you selected theprimary and,
location forifyour
relevant, secondaryand
investigation datawhat
collection techniques,
is it you want to indication of the
find out from Individual/
this area?
planned sampling strategy or strategies. Group data collection
(Delete as appropriate)
Planned methodology – indication of qualitative and/or quantitative techniques including primary and, if relevant, secondary data collection techniques, indication of the Individual/
Planned methodology
planned sampling
Planned –
– indication
strategy
methodology of
of qualitative
qualitative and/or
or strategies.
indication and/or quantitative
quantitative techniques
techniques including
including primary
primary and,
and, if
if relevant,
relevant, secondary
secondary data
data collection
collection techniques,
techniques, indication
indication of
of the
the Individual/
Group data collection
Individual/
planned sampling strategy or strategies.
planned sampling strategy or strategies. Group
(Deletedata
Group data collection
as appropriate)
collection
(Delete
(Delete as
as appropriate)
appropriate)
This section should outline how you will collect information and / or data for your investigation. The ideas you list will need to help you answer the title of your investigation and your sub-
questions. You need
Teacher approval to think
for the about how
investigation manageable
or details your data
of any necessary collection that
amendments is forneed
the to
time
be you
madehave available
before approvaland
canthe amount of information you gather, as this will then need to be analysed.
be given.
To help your thinking with this section see the methodology infographic . You might find as you start investigating that you discount some of these initial data collection ideas, which is fine
Teacher Approval:
and part of the enquiry process. You can explain why you have done this in your evaluation section.
Teacher approval for the investigation or details of any necessary amendments that need to be made before approval can be given.
Teacher approval
Teacher approval for the
(Yes/No)for the investigation
investigation or
or details
details of
of any
any necessary
necessary amendments
amendments that
that need
need to
to be
be made
made before
before approval
approval can
can be
be given.
given.
Teacher Approval:
Teacher
Teacher Approval:
Approval: Your teacher will be able to support you with your early thinking and planning for your investigation and they need to sign your proposal before you get started.
(Yes/No)
Teacher signature These 12 exemplar proposal forms show a variety of investigations with different approaches. They areDate
not perfect as they are an initial plan at the start of the
(Yes/No) (DDMMYYYY)
(Yes/No) investigation process.
Date
Teacher signature Date
Teacher (DDMMYYYY)
Date
Teacher signature
signature (DDMMYYYY)
(DDMMYYYY)

GCW182 Revised November 2016

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations
GCW182 Revised November 2016
GCW182
GCW182
OCR Resources: Revised
the small print November
Revised November 2016
2016
Oxford Cambridge
OCR acknowledges the use of theand RSAcontent:
following Examinations
Brainstorming, ismagilov/Getty Images.com: Pen icon, Esra Sen Kula/Getty Images.com: Desk, Nubenamo/Getty Image.com: Music Icon, Applezur/Getty Images.com: Footprint icon, Tanya St/
Oxford Cambridge
Oxford Cambridge
Getty Images.com: and RSA Examinations
and RSAImages.com:
Finish line, cako74/Getty Examinations
Thumbs down, lushik/Getty Images: Business icon, -VICTOR-/Getty Images.com: Adventure, DenisKrivoy/Getty Images.com
Please get in touch if you want to discuss the accessibility of resources we offer to support delivery of our qualifications: resources.feedback@ocr.org.uk
www.ocr.org.uk/geography © OCR 2020