Students must ask geographic questions about topics they are studying and, if possible, relate these to their local environment. If the topic relates to one or more of these themes, then it is geography. The essay is to be based on field studies or other primary source materials. Primary sources refer to data collected by either the students themselves or by established agencies where appropriate data would otherwise not be available to students. In the case of official agencies such as Statistics Canada, Population Bureau of the USA or the United Nations, the area could be a country.
Private companies issue statistics too.
Students collect data by deciding where or what the topic is, then deciding what data they need to collect to answer their research question. For safety reasons, it is often necessary for students to collect data in groups. However, the presentation of the data and conclusions drawn from the data are to be the work on one individual. Graphs, charts and maps can be used to display numbers, sketches can be drawn and photographs can be annotated. The data is then analyzed to find patterns, reach conclusions and perhaps suggest new questions or directions for research.