What this lesson teaches
I can choose a sampling method and collect primary data with questionnaires, interviews and mental maps.
Syllabus K335, Topic 1.3, Key Question 2. How to collect primary data?
I can organise fieldwork data and analyse its patterns with counts, averages and comparisons.
Syllabus K335, Topic 1.3, Key Question 3. How to process and analyse data?
Make a guess
A resident draws a mental map of their neighbourhood and leaves out the large park next to their block. What can you conclude?
- The map is useless because it is inaccurate.
- The park does not exist on the real map.
- Not much yet. An interview can explain why.
- They dislike the park, so they left it off.
Show the answer
Not much yet. An interview can explain why.
The park may be unknown, not relevant, or avoided. The drawing shows it is missing, but only asking the person tells you which.
A mental map shows how someone sees a place, and an interview helps explain what they drew or left out.
A mental map shows how a person sees or remembers a place. Give everyone the same base map. Ask them to draw features that matter for your question, such as routes they use or places they like. What they make big, label or leave out can show what matters to them.
Follow up with a semi-structured interview. It uses prepared open questions but lets you ask more based on the answers. Ask what made them include a place, instead of suggesting a reason. Ask permission to record, let people say no, and keep them anonymous.
Compare the drawing with the real map. A missing park might be unknown, not relevant or avoided. Only the interview can tell you which.
Across many interviews, code the answers by labelling them with themes, such as access or friendship. Keep answers that differ.
- Mental map
- A person's own drawing of how they see a place.
- Semi-structured interview
- Prepared open questions plus follow-ups.
- Coding
- Labelling answers with themes.
Step by step
Collect the maps
Same task and base map for everyone.
Ask open questions
Do not suggest what their drawing means.
Read both together
Use the map and interview to explain the experience.
Worked example: Code without losing the story
One made-up interview says "I meet friends under the shelter." Another says "The covered route helps when it rains." Both are about shelter, but one is about friendship and the other about access. Good coding records both.
Watch out for this
A mental map is useless if its distances are wrong.
Its purpose is to show how people see a place. Distortions are clues to interpret.
Check your understanding
Someone draws a small park very large. What is the best follow-up question?
- You must visit this park every day, correct?
- What led you to show the park in this way?
- Why have you drawn the park bigger than it is?
Show the answer
What led you to show the park in this way?
Yes. It is open and neutral.