HSC Investigating Science study plan

Distinguish between controlled experiments, observational studies and correlational studies, and classify ten described scenarios by design type

Write operational definitions for independent, dependent and controlled variables in three sample investigations

Identify five common logical fallacies (ad hominem, false cause, appeal to authority, hasty generalisation, straw man) in short written arguments

Explain how sample size, randomisation and blinding reduce bias in a scientific investigation

Design a valid investigation for a given research question, specifying hypothesis, variables, controls and a repeatable procedure

Evaluate the reliability and validity of a described investigation and propose two concrete improvements

Assess the credibility of a scientific claim by checking its source, sample and peer-review status

Distinguish correlation from causation using at least three real or constructed examples

Describe how accuracy, precision, validity and reliability differ, and apply each term to a set of measurement scenarios

Calculate and interpret means, ranges and simple percentage errors from sample data

Explain how a named technology (for example a data logger, spectrophotometer or GPS) improves measurement accuracy or precision

Select appropriate instruments and units for five different measurement tasks

Trace the development of a scientific technology from prototype to widespread use, identifying at least three enabling advances

Explain how a named technology has changed the way scientific data are collected, stored or shared

Identify ethical, social and economic implications of a scientific technology

Compare the roles of government, industry and universities in funding and regulating scientific research

Analyse a pseudoscientific claim and explain why it fails scientific criteria (falsifiability, repeatability, peer review)

Explain how media reporting can distort scientific findings through selective emphasis or missing context

Describe how scientific consensus forms and how it can legitimately change with new evidence

Evaluate a real public controversy by separating scientific evidence from values, economics and politics

Plan a first-hand investigation that uses at least one technology for data collection or analysis

Justify the choice of technology against alternatives using cost, accuracy and practicality

Describe how technologies such as modelling software or databases enable investigations that would otherwise be impossible

Explain the limitations introduced when a technology is used to measure or model a phenomenon

Construct an argument that distinguishes evidence from opinion in a scientific debate

Explain the role of peer review, replication and retraction in self-correcting science

Assess how cultural, economic and political factors influence which scientific questions get researched

Evaluate the reliability of a secondary source by checking its citations, author expertise and publication venue

Synthesise content from all four domains into integrated responses to extended-response questions

Complete a timed practice paper under exam conditions and self-mark against criteria

Identify and revise the three weakest sub-topics revealed by the practice paper

Summarise each domain on a single revision card with key terms, skills and example questions