A LevelGeographyEdexcelRevision Notes6. Diverse Places6.2 Diverse Living Spaces6.2.3 Methods of Evaluating Views of Rural Areas

Methods of Evaluating Views of Rural Areas (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Revision Note

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Lindsay Smith

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Use of Statistical Evidence

  • Places are represented in a huge range of qualitative and quantitative ways 
    • Quantitative data includes census data, crime rates, house prices, demographic data like population pyramids and economic data (usually found on a council website)
    • Qualitative data includes songs, novels, poetry, paintings, photographs and films 
  • The use of statistics can help determine whether people have a positive or negative image of their living spaces

Quantitative data

  • Census data about population growth and decline, age categories, ethnicity and health
    • This can help determine how the population structure is changing and what impacts it might be having on the place
  • The Labour Force Survey to determine the average income in an area, the types of work carried out by local people, and whether they are full-time or part-time
    • This can help identify the types of lifestyles people in rural and urban areas might enjoy
  • Index of multiple deprivatioin (IMD) data to identify small areas that are deprived
    • The IMD is divided into seven deprivation categories (e.g. housing access and health), which can support the analysis of people’s perceptions 

Level of Deprivation for Lerwick (2020)

Type of deprivation Lerwick (Decile rank)
Education 7
Health 5
Crime 2
Housing access 3
Income 6
Employment 6

    • Deciles divide the ranked areas into 10 equal groups - the most deprived (1) to the least deprived (10)
    • Lerwick has:
      • Relatively low levels of deprivation for education
      • High levels of crime - at least 80% of other places in Scotland experience less crime than Lerwick
      • Poor levels of access to housing
  • The National Well-being Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), measures the well-being of people living in the UK by assessing their life satisfaction, happiness, anxiety, and feeling that the things they do in life are worthwhile 
    • The results can be viewed at a local level e.g. Shetland and Liverpool

Personal well-being for Liverpool and Shetland (2022-2023)

Personal well-being measure (out of 10) Liverpool Shetland
Life satisfaction  7.1 7.9
Worthwhile 7.6 8
Happiness 7.3 8.2
Anxiety 3.3 2

    • The data shows that residents of Liverpool have lower levels of personal well-being than Shetland 
      • For anxiety, the higher the score, the more anxious people feel
  • Quantitative data is useful as it:
    • Provides a way to measure the social, economic and environmental problems in an area
    • Can be used to compare places

Exam Tip

Remember, not every person feels the same way about the area in which they happen to live. Perhaps, some people have been forced to move there due to the limited availability of social housing, so they feel unhappy.  Other people may feel secure in the area, so they have a happy attachment to the place. 

People’s perceptions (subjective opinions) and image of a place are personal, rather than objective, so quantitative evidence is harder to collect. You could design an interview to ask different population groups, such as secondary school students, retired people and working adults; also consider the ethnic diversity of the area’s population. 

Some possible questions about belonging and place:

  • How long have you lived in this place?
  • Do you feel that you belong to this place?
    • No
      • What is it that makes you feel this way?
    • Yes
      • What is it that makes you feel this way?
  • Have your feelings changed during the time you have lived here?
    • No
    • Yes
      • Have your feelings become more or less positive?
      • What factors have prompted this change in feeling?
  • What do you think is the most negative aspect of the place’s image today?
  • What do you think is the most positive aspect of the place’s image today?

The quantitative evidence (e.g. census data and the personal well-being survey) can be used to support the findings of the qualitative data. 

Use of Different Media

  • Using media (television dramas, blogs, films, news broadcasts, newspapers) can help develop a viewer’s sense of place
    • These types of media reach a large audience and can give outsiders an image of what a place is like by portraying the lived experiences of people
    • People can form attachments to places through perception gained from media or hearing the experiences of others 
      • People can become attached to a place they have never visited
  • Media can provide alternative evidence about the image and perceptions of places
    • The images shown could be in contrast to what the residents’ views are
  • However, media is subjective and may not accurately show how people perceive a place:
    • Some writers may portray a favourable image of a place to enhance a story
    • Other places may be depicted as worse than they are to add drama, which risks stigmatising an area and its locals 

Exam Tip

Remember, some of these media, such as television documentaries, are controversial and need to be considered carefully e.g. Liverpudlians believed Desperate Scousewives, a reality TV show based in Liverpool, created an unfair image of people from Liverpool.

Use of Different Representations

  • Different representations of places can influence the perception of cultural and demographic issues and conflict:
    • Changes in the demographics of an area (e.g. total numbers and age structures) could lead to tension, such as the building of new houses on a greenfield site to accommodate an increasing population
    • Changes in the ethnic mix of an area could lead to social clustering and the segregation of ethnic minorities, such as Polish migrants living in an area of poor housing in Boston
  • Some possible representations that could influence people’s perceptions of issues include:
    • Newspapers
    • News reports
    • Documentaries on TV
    • YouTube video clips uploaded by individuals
    • Estate agents
    • Tourism and local enterprise offices
    • Local authorities
  • Consideration needs to be given to the accuracy of documentaries and video sources:
    • Only a small number of people might be interviewed
    • Only a few images might be shown
    • The local community forums might be very vocal and not represent the majority

Worked example

Explain why it's difficult to assess the validity of someone's perception of a place.

[6 marks]

  • Define the terms perception of place and lived experience
  • Explain why the statistical analysis of data might not give the complete picture of what a place is really like
    • Back up with statistical evidence from your chosen places
  • Explain why media depictions of a place can also be unreliable in assessing what a place is like
    • Give examples of how your chosen places are depicted in the media
    • Comment on whether these depictions validate or contradict the lived experience of a place

Answer:

Individuals or groups of people will have different perceptions of a place, whether positive or negative. These images, held by a person or group of people, are created by a person’s assessment of information, so these images are subjective rather than objective. An outsider’s perception of a place (perhaps gained from the media) could be different from an insider’s view, who has experience of living in a particular place. These factors can make it difficult to assess the validity of someone’s perception of place.

Statistics can help determine whether people have a positive or negative image of a place, however, quantitative data may not always provide a valid image. The National Well-being Survey measures the well-being of people living in the UK by assessing their life satisfaction, happiness, anxiety, and feeling that the things they do in life are worthwhile. These results show whether people are feeling positive or negative towards the area they live in. The results show that Shetland residents have a higher level of personal well-being than Liverpudlians. However, the sample size of the survey may be very small, which may not reflect the majority of the population. Some Liverpudlians, who did not complete the survey, could have very high levels of personal well-being. The Census can help determine how the population structure is changing and what impacts it might be having on the place. For example, Liverpool’s 2019 net international migration was +3217. Many of these international migrants will settle in inner-city areas of Liverpool, like Toxteth, where 23 percent of the population were born outside the UK. However, the Census is only done once every 10 years, so the data used could be out-of-date. 

Using media can help develop or change a viewer’s perception of a place. It can provide contrasting views to what the residents feel about the place. For example,  Bread (a 1980s TV programme) depicted inner-city, working-class Liverpudlian families as work-shy and benefit-cheating. This stereotype was criticised by some Liverpudlians. Some media representation of Shetland is also contradictory. The book, Shetland, portrayed Shetland as having high levels of violent crimes. In reality, violent crimes only account for 1.3 percent of crimes; the majority of crimes are motoring offences. The personal well-being survey shows Shetland’s anxiety levels are low, which might not necessarily be the case if residents viewed Shetland as violent.

It’s difficult to assess the validity of someone’s perceptions as perceptions are subjective. Perceptions can be formed using quantitative data and media representations. However, the data might be out-of-date and the media could be biased. 

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    Lindsay Smith

    Author: Lindsay Smith

    After achieving her PGCE over 20 years ago Lindsay has worked in a range of secondary schools across the UK. With a proven record of supporting students to achieve the highest standards in schools Lindsay is eager to pass on her love of geography through excellent revision content. Lindsay has travelled extensively enhancing her knowledge and understanding of geographical issues further developing her passion for the subject.