• carry out wide-ranging research, using both primary and secondary sources, where appropriate to gather relevant data, related to research questions  
• summarise and process geographical data/information  
• analyse and evaluate geographical data/information  
• reach reasoned conclusions 

You should aim to justify your choice of topic by explaining:  

• the purpose of researching the topic  
• the relevance of the topic in the context of the subject/why the topic is worth learning about  
• any relevant geographical literature/research that you can refer to  
• how your topic has a good potential for analysis/evaluation 
• how your topic has a good potential for processing good geographical data and information

• carry out extensive background reading on the topic you have chosen (you should aim to use three or more sources of information)  
• aim to generate four or more research questions/hypotheses or sub-questions/hypotheses related to the overall aim of your study and organise them logically
• identify appropriate sampling techniques and sampling points for the gathering of data, where appropriate  
• identify data gathering methods and techniques and equipment, where appropriate, which will allow the research questions, sub aims or hypotheses to be explored 

You should aim to show that you have planned your research in detail and that you have used appropriate research techniques skilfully to gather data and address your questions/hypotheses. 

In many cases fieldwork will be an important part of the project–folio (study). However, you do not necessarily need to carry out fieldwork, if other research methods will give you the information you need. You can still gain full marks without carrying out any fieldwork. 

• relevance/importance/reliability of gathered data  
• positive and negative aspects of techniques used  
• strengths and weaknesses of techniques used  
• significance/impact of data gathered  
• any other relevant evaluative comment 

You should: 

• evaluate the gathering techniques employed by assessing the quality of the data obtained and comparing with estimates where appropriate  
• evaluate the reliability of the data with reference to sampling technique, number of samples, etc  
• evaluate the significance of the data  
• explain and analyse what next steps you might take  
• if you identify issues or mistakes with your gathering techniques, you should explain how you responded to these 

You should aim to make points of evidence from wider reading. These should be:  

• relevant to the topic being studied  
• developed (by including additional detail, exemplification, reasons or evidence related to the topic being studied)  
• used to support the findings from research relevant to the topic being studied 

You should include clear references to all sources you have used, within a detailed bibliography.

• use a wide range of different processing techniques (eg graphical, statistical, map based, diagrams etc) to support your research  
• explain how and why you have used these processing techniques  
• ensure that your choice of techniques are relevant to the hypotheses/sub aims/research questions  
• suggest potential improvements or adjustments  
• make sure the techniques selected are sophisticated and clearly able to show relationships between relevant data
• integrate the techniques and their products to support your research

You should use a minimum of 10. 

You should make at analytical statements about, for example:  

• links/relationships between the different data sets that have been gathered and processed  
• links/relationships between the different data sets and the wider context of the study  
• links/relationships between the data sets, the wider context and related theories  
• similarities or contradictions between the data sets and related theories  
• possible consequences/implications of similarities or contradiction between data sets analysed and related theories 

Your explanations of the relationships you identified should be clear and explicit. You should aim to use your analysis to show that you understand the wider context of the topic being studied, and/or relevant theoretical ideas. You should reflect back on your research questions and hypothesis. 

Advice from the SQA in 2025 was:

In the analysis section, encourage candidates to follow a simple structure: 1) describe the data 2) use phrases like ‘this is because…’ to explain 3) support with wider reading to strengthen analysis

You should give at least one conclusion which presents an overall judgement about the topic. This should be based on the developed points within your argument. You should organise your overall response into a logical sequence in response to the questions raised in the topic. Your conclusion(s) can, but does not have to, be made at the end. 

You should explain evidence which supports your conclusion(s), and also explain potential challenges or counter-arguments to your conclusion(s). It should not be a repetition of your analysis.

You should use a referencing system/bibliography which is appropriate to the subject and the study researched. It is important to be consistent in your use of referencing findings.

You can use a straightforward referencing style, for example:  author, date, title, page number, publisher:

 — Gillespie, R. (2011) Critical Navigation Skills, p93, Penguin Books 

When considering the layout of your project–folio you may want to consider, for example:  

• presenting text on A4 single-sided pages  
• larger page sizes can be used but will be judged against the equivalent A4 size, eg one A3 page is equal to two A4 pages  
• using a standard font/size throughout (titles/headings may be larger)  
• using consistent line spacing  
• using consistent formatting of headings and subheadings  
• numbering each page  
• making sure that text contained in diagrams is clear and relevant to the diagram  
• presenting direct quotes from the sources in such a way that they are distinct from the main text