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changed or controlled, or what action should be taken so that accurate and precise data can be
collected. It requires an ability to
evaluate the quality of data, which in turn depends on recognising
that data are not always completely accurate. It also requires the competency to
identify if an
investigation is driven by an underlying theoretical premise or, alternatively, whether it seeks to
determine identifiable patterns.
40. A scientifically literate person should also be able to recognise the significance of previous
research in judging the value of any given scientific enquiry. Such knowledge is needed to situate
the work and judge the importance of any possible outcomes. For instance, that the search for a
malaria vaccine has been an on-going programme of scientific research for several decades.
Hence, given the number of people who are killed by malarial infections, any findings that
suggested a vaccine would be achievable would be of substantial significance. Moreover, students
need to understand the importance of developing a sceptical disposition to all media reports in
science recognising that all research builds on previous work, that the findings of any one study
are always subject to uncertainty, and that the study may be biased by the sources of funding. This
competency requires students to possess both procedural and epistemic knowledge but may also
draw, to
varying degrees, on their content knowledge of science.
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