Conclusions
This section is likely to be mainly narrative, but does not need to be very long. It will need to reference back to your HYPOTHESES and to state explicitly whether you think (based on the evidence that you have presented) these have been proven TRUE or FALSE.
Remember... a false hypothesis is as good as a true one since you have found an answer to one of your enquiry questions.
By this stage of your enquiry, you will have a fair idea of whether or not your overall enquiry question has been confirmed or not. If you are not sure, go back to your data presentation and interpretation narrative and check out which hypotheses have been proven (or not)... to gain an overall impression of whether or not Ealing appears to possess land-use zoning and a CBD.
It is likely that, to greater or lesser extent, land-use zoning will be evident... in which case you can write the first paragraph of the conclusion e.g.
The data presented in the previous section appear to indicate that, overall, Ealing possesses land-use zoning similar to that suggested by Ernest Burgess in his Concentric Ring Model i.e. the most central area is dominated by commerce. This area extends a few hundred meters out from the start point of the transects surveyed.
Having, in this fashion, set the scene for your conclusion, you will then need to provide some support of it by referring back to the individual hypotheses and data presented earlier... It is not necessary to repeat the data description and interpretation narrative completely, but you will need to state which hypotheses support the initial paragraph, to what extent and to highlight where there are corroborative findings or where some data (if you have any) appears to contradict the overall findings. Do not be afraid to question your own results if you think patterns are not conclusive as it is expected in scientific method that you are cautious about making too bold assertions (unless the evidence is very strong).
The style of phrasing could be as follows (the actual wording/message, of course will depend on your findings)...
The overall conclusion is supported by the findings for hypotheses... (state which ones...).
Some hypotheses seem to corroborate each other. For example... (state the ones that tell a similar story) which both indicate that... (outline what they reveal).
There are (maybe) hypotheses that do not support the general findings so well. These are... (state and explain). It would be a good idea, here, to include a short discussion/point about the significance of the contradictory findings... ie do they undermine the overall conclusion?
For many reports, it is likely that data has been mapped. If this is the case, it may become apparent that the zones do not form neat rings as in the Burgess model. Instead, the commercial activities tend to extend further along the main route-ways going in and out of Ealing. This pattern in reminiscent of a later land use model developed by a researcher called Hoyt. His model is shown below. Source: GCSE Bitesize
Another urban model is the Hoyt model. This is based on the circles on the Burgess model, but adds sectors of similar land uses concentrated in parts of the city. Notice how some zones, eg the factories/industry zone, radiate out from the CBD. This is probably following the line of a main road or a railway.
The modifications introduced by Hoyt reflect the influence that lines of communications have had on the location of different land uses. Clearly there is advantage for commercial and manufacturing activity to be located near to lines of good communication as these ease the movement of raw materials, manufactured goods and customers to and from their businesses. Consequently, Industry and commercial zones have grown along roads, canals and rail routes. Working class housing also developed along these "sectors" so that workers could easily get to and from their places of employment (also without the expense of long commutes). Although Hoyt's model leaves the CBD as a central circle, it is not too difficult to imagine and to explain why it might instead also be stretched along route ways as the same advantages would apply for retail and service sector activities common in the CBD as for other commercial activities. Besides which, it is rare that real places actually conform exactly to models... they are not expected to as models are generalizations. Using the work of Hoyt, the conclusion could be improved...
... As is visible on the map of the ....(state the data)... data, the CBD of Ealing is not circular as suggested by the generalized layout of the Burgess model. Although a circular CBD was not necessarily expected, the extension of zones along the main route-ways in and out of Ealing is similar to the pattern suggested in Hoyt's Sector model... (explain).
Finish your conclusions with a summative paragraph...
So, overall Ealing does/does not appear to possess a CBD. This is evidenced by (state the data...). Although there are some factors which do not support this general deduction, these are considered to be less significant.
The pattern of land use, however, shows an irregular shaped CBD which may reflect the influence of the main route-ways in and out of the centre. This finding suggests that Hoyt's Sector model may be more accurate as a description of zoning in Ealing.
The next (AND FINAL) element of your report is the EVALUATION... see "Evaluation" post on this blog.
It is likely that, to greater or lesser extent, land-use zoning will be evident... in which case you can write the first paragraph of the conclusion e.g.
The data presented in the previous section appear to indicate that, overall, Ealing possesses land-use zoning similar to that suggested by Ernest Burgess in his Concentric Ring Model i.e. the most central area is dominated by commerce. This area extends a few hundred meters out from the start point of the transects surveyed.
Having, in this fashion, set the scene for your conclusion, you will then need to provide some support of it by referring back to the individual hypotheses and data presented earlier... It is not necessary to repeat the data description and interpretation narrative completely, but you will need to state which hypotheses support the initial paragraph, to what extent and to highlight where there are corroborative findings or where some data (if you have any) appears to contradict the overall findings. Do not be afraid to question your own results if you think patterns are not conclusive as it is expected in scientific method that you are cautious about making too bold assertions (unless the evidence is very strong).
The style of phrasing could be as follows (the actual wording/message, of course will depend on your findings)...
The overall conclusion is supported by the findings for hypotheses... (state which ones...).
Some hypotheses seem to corroborate each other. For example... (state the ones that tell a similar story) which both indicate that... (outline what they reveal).
There are (maybe) hypotheses that do not support the general findings so well. These are... (state and explain). It would be a good idea, here, to include a short discussion/point about the significance of the contradictory findings... ie do they undermine the overall conclusion?
For many reports, it is likely that data has been mapped. If this is the case, it may become apparent that the zones do not form neat rings as in the Burgess model. Instead, the commercial activities tend to extend further along the main route-ways going in and out of Ealing. This pattern in reminiscent of a later land use model developed by a researcher called Hoyt. His model is shown below. Source: GCSE Bitesize
The modifications introduced by Hoyt reflect the influence that lines of communications have had on the location of different land uses. Clearly there is advantage for commercial and manufacturing activity to be located near to lines of good communication as these ease the movement of raw materials, manufactured goods and customers to and from their businesses. Consequently, Industry and commercial zones have grown along roads, canals and rail routes. Working class housing also developed along these "sectors" so that workers could easily get to and from their places of employment (also without the expense of long commutes). Although Hoyt's model leaves the CBD as a central circle, it is not too difficult to imagine and to explain why it might instead also be stretched along route ways as the same advantages would apply for retail and service sector activities common in the CBD as for other commercial activities. Besides which, it is rare that real places actually conform exactly to models... they are not expected to as models are generalizations. Using the work of Hoyt, the conclusion could be improved...
... As is visible on the map of the ....(state the data)... data, the CBD of Ealing is not circular as suggested by the generalized layout of the Burgess model. Although a circular CBD was not necessarily expected, the extension of zones along the main route-ways in and out of Ealing is similar to the pattern suggested in Hoyt's Sector model... (explain).
Finish your conclusions with a summative paragraph...
So, overall Ealing does/does not appear to possess a CBD. This is evidenced by (state the data...). Although there are some factors which do not support this general deduction, these are considered to be less significant.
The pattern of land use, however, shows an irregular shaped CBD which may reflect the influence of the main route-ways in and out of the centre. This finding suggests that Hoyt's Sector model may be more accurate as a description of zoning in Ealing.
The next (AND FINAL) element of your report is the EVALUATION... see "Evaluation" post on this blog.
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