Human Fieldwork

Question 1

What demographic characteristic was notable in Swanage?

Answer 1

High percentage of elderly and wealthy population

This demographic was examined for its impact on technology adoption.

Question 2

Why was Swanage chosen for data collection?

Answer 2

Large population size and area for easy data collection

Allowed for a larger sample size within a limited time.

Question 3

What is a significant feature of Swanage’s location?

Answer 3

Popular tourist location with a World Heritage Site

This creates potential conflicts with renewable energy installations.

Question 4

What happened to the proposed offshore wind farm in Swanage?

Answer 4

Did not receive planning permission

Indicates local knowledge about renewable energy pros and cons.

Question 5

How was Swanage’s safety relevant to the study?

Answer 5

It is a very safe and accessible location

This was beneficial for the researchers’ accommodation and data collection.

Question 6

Fill in the blank: Swanage has a high percentage of _______.

Answer 6

[elderly and wealthy population]

Question 7

What was the maximum number of students collecting data simultaneously?

Answer 7

Up to 70 students

This facilitated the data collection process.

Question 8

Fill in the blank: The study aimed to explore conflicts with the installation of _______.

Answer 8

[renewable energy sources]

Question 9

What is a risk associated with the activity?

Answer 9

Road traffic accident.

Question 10

How were students protected from traffic?

Answer 10

Conducted questionnaires in pedestrianised zones.

Question 11

What safety briefing did students receive?

Answer 11

Briefed on road safety and designated crossings.

Question 12

How many students conducted questionnaires together?

Answer 12

In groups of at least 3.

Question 13

Where did students stay during the activity?

Answer 13

In busy areas with public presence.

Question 14

What does NIMBYism stand for?

Answer 14

NIMBYism stands for ‘Not in my back yard’ and refers to the concept that people naturally reject changes near their homes due to fear of negative impacts.

Question 15

What is an example of NIMBYism?

Answer 15

Many local residents in Swanage do not support the creation of more wind and solar farms.

This illustrates the resistance to local changes due to perceived negative effects.

Question 16

What does AONB stand for?

Answer 16

AONB stands for ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, a protection status awarded by the UK Government to preserve certain countryside areas.

Question 17

What is the significance of the Dorset AONB?

Answer 17

The Dorset AONB covers 40% of the county and includes the Jurassic Coast, the UK’s only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This status restricts development, explaining the lack of onshore or offshore wind farms and limited solar farms.

Question 18

What is the primary method for collecting data in this study?

Answer 18

The primary method is questionnaires with local residents.

Question 19

What secondary data method involves satellite images?

Answer 19

The secondary data method involves using satellite images of properties to identify the percentage of solar panel use.

Question 20

What secondary data method uses thematic maps?

Answer 20

The secondary data method uses thematic maps showing electric vehicle charge points and commercial solar and wind farms.

Question 21

What types of charts were used to present closed question data?

Answer 21

Bar, pie, and stacked bar charts were used to visually represent the data.

Question 22

What was the purpose of the data presentation?

Answer 22

To quantify local support for renewable energy.

Question 23

What limitation did the data presentation approach have?

Answer 23

It did not incorporate open questions effectively due to the difficulty in presenting large quantities of qualitative data.

Question 24

What percentage of people surveyed had solar panels installed?

Answer 24

14% of people surveyed had solar panels installed.

Question 25

How did the data presentation allow for gender comparison?

Answer 25

The comparative bar chart plotted data by gender, showing men were slightly less supportive of renewable energy than women.

Question 26

What trend was noted regarding age groups and support for EVs?

Answer 26

Younger age groups were more actively supporting the switch to electric and hybrid vehicles, while those over 65 were very reluctant.

Question 27

What advantage did using Excel provide in data presentation?

Answer 27

It significantly reduced the risk of human error when creating the charts.

Question 28

Why was part of your method unreliable?

Answer 28

Forgetting to check if people were local as the question was slightly hidden.

Data such as ‘50% support for solar and wind’ might be inaccurate and affected by day-visitors.

Question 29

How was the accuracy of your results affected?

Answer 29

The validity of our conclusion that local people support renewable energy is weaker because of the uncertainty over who was interviewed.

We could ask how far from Swanage centre they live and include the question in the main table of questions.

Question 30

What was the imbalance in the number of people interviewed?

Answer 30

70% of people interviewed were over 50 years old.

Our data wasn’t truly representative of the Swanage population.

Question 31

How did the age group imbalance affect your conclusions?

Answer 31

Our conclusion that there was little active support for the switch to renewable energy was weakened because if we’d surveyed a greater proportion of 18-30s we might have found more active support.

We should have insisted on equal proportions of the different age groups to ensure a representative sample.

Question 32

What specific improvements could be suggested?

Answer 32

We could ask how far from Swanage centre they live and include the question in the main table of questions.