KE5020 - Human geography fieldwork:UK

Essentially on this module you will learn by doing and by engaging in your own primary and secondary data research projects directed by tutors and informed by published staff research. A limited number of lectures will be given prior to the fieldwork experience to provide a broader context for the study and to introduce you to some of the key tools and research agendas in this study area. Most of the learning will take place though in the preparatory research workshops and in the actual field research setting. You will also learn how to work as part of a research team learning about the types of activities that contribute to successful field research projects. Developing an ability to work with others in sometimes difficult and tight timeframes, and in unfamiliar environments will be an important aspect of this module. The nature of the assessments on this module and the group-working in the field are designed to encourage you to develop key transferrable skills such as problem solving, data-analysis, team working, leadership and self-management all of which will help enhance your future employability.

Support in this module will mainly take the form of your tutor acting as your research group mentor providing you with an appropriate field research project and helping you design and implement a successful field research project. Feedback on your progress will be provided regularly in the preparatory workshops as part of an iterative research mentoring process. This support process will also continue in the field setting. There is an opportunity for one-to-one sessions via the Department’s open door policy. Teaching staff operate an ‘open door’ policy for students meaning you can approach them anytime during normal office hours, or via email, to answer questions, receive feedback and support your learning on the module. In addition, tutors will use the module’s discussion board at the University’s eLearning Portal to respond to questions so that the whole group can benefit. Time will be set aside in lectures/workshops to provide opportunities for Q&A on assignments and formative feedback.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• MLO 1: Explore the spatial variation of recent socio-economic change within a specific region of the UK and demonstrate the significance of place-specific characteristics on broader pressures of change.
• MLO 2: Evaluate the relationships between wider economic restructuring and local social and cultural change within a region of the UK.
• MLO 3: Employ and evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of quantitative and qualitative fieldwork methods.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• MLO 4: Demonstrate skills in project design, field observation and measurement and report writing.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• MLO 5: Demonstrate an awareness of health and safety, moral and ethical dimensions in the design and conduct of geographical field investigations.

You will be assessed via an individual reflexive field notebook (MLOs 1, 2 and 3) worth 60% and a group fieldwork project report (MLOs 1 to 5) worth 40%.
Group work is an essential element of this module and the summative assessment strategy is designed to take account of this with a balance between group based and individual assignments. This form of assessment is designed to encourage you to view learning and assessment as a process rather than a one-off, end product. Formative feedback on your progress will be provided regularly in the preparatory workshops as part of an iterative research mentoring process. This support process will also continue in the field setting. Summative feedback will be provided in writing for all the coursework. In addition, generic module based feedback will be circulated to you and will be provided in the context of assessment criteria provided to at the start of the module.

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Not only does this module provide you with a great opportunity to study aspects of human geography in some interesting fieldwork locations in North East England, it also provides a valuable opportunity for you to develop key transferrable employability skills such as team working, reflexivity, interpersonal skills and project management together with research planning, data collection and analysis. You will also learn how to access secondary data from a variety of sources and how to complement this with your own primary data collected in the field.