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Improving an Environmental Quality Survey
A student carried out an investigation to consider the question: ‘Do modern business parks have a higher environmental quality than older industrial estates?’
The student compared an old industrial estate with a recently developed business park. Figure 5 used an environmental quality survey scored from 0 (Very poor quality) to 5 (Good quality).
| Survey criterion | Old industrial estate score | Business park score |
|---|---|---|
| Attractiveness of buildings | 2 | 4 |
| Maintenance of buildings | 2 | 4 |
| Litter/waste | 2 | 4 |
| Vandalism/graffiti | 3 | 3 |
| Water/ground pollution | 2 | 4 |
| Landscaping/planting | 1 | 5 |
Suggest one way that the environmental quality survey could be adapted in order to improve the results.
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Marking points
- 1 Proposes an actual adaptation to the environmental quality survey or how it is applied that could improve result quality.
Full-mark answer
Give a clear written description for what every score from 0 to 5 means, so different observers apply the scale more consistently and the results are less subjective.
Why this answer loses marks
I would ask the same observer to score the site again immediately.
Repeating the same subjective judgement does not address unclear criteria, observer bias, limited range or narrow sampling, so data quality may not improve.