12 Investigating Glossary

Question 1

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Answer 1

Aboriginal Peoples are the first peoples of Australia and are represented by over 250 language groups, each associated with a particular Country or territory. Torres Strait Islander Peoples, whose island territories to the north-east of Australia were annexed by Queensland in 1879, are also Indigenous Australians and are represented by five cultural groups. An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is someone who: is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, and is accepted as such by the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community in which they live.

Question 2

Conclusion

Answer 2

A judgement based on evidence.

Question 3

Controlled Variable

Answer 3

A variable that is kept constant (or changed in constant ways) during an investigation.

Question 4

Dependent Variable

Answer 4

A variable that changes in response to changes to the independent variable in an investigation.

Question 5

Digital Technologies

Answer 5

Systems that handle digital data, including hardware and software, for specific purposes.

Question 6

Hypothesis

Answer 6

A tentative explanation for an observed phenomenon, expressed as a precise and unambiguous statement that can be supported or refuted by investigation.

Question 7

Independent Variable

Answer 7

A variable that is changed in an investigation to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.

Question 8

Investigation

Answer 8

A scientific process of answering a question, exploring an idea, or solving a problem which requires activities such as planning a course of action, collecting data, interpreting data, reaching a conclusion, and communicating these activities. Investigations can include practical or secondary-sourced data or information.

Question 9

Practical Investigation

Answer 9

An investigation that involves systematic scientific inquiry by planning a course of action and using equipment to collect data and/or information. Practical investigations include a range of hands-on activities and can include laboratory investigations and fieldwork.

Question 10

Primary Sources/Primary Data

Answer 10

Information created by a person or persons directly involved in a study or observing an event.

Question 11

Reliability

Answer 11

The extent to which repeated observations and/or measurements taken under identical circumstances will yield similar results.

Question 12

Risk Assessment

Answer 12

The determination of a quantitative or qualitative estimate of risk related to a well-defined situation and a recognised threat (also called a hazard).

Question 13

Secondary-Sourced Investigation

Answer 13

An investigation that involves systematic scientific inquiry by planning a course of action and sourcing data and/or information from other people, including written information, reports, graphs, tables, diagrams, and images.

Question 14

Technology

Answer 14

All types of human-made systems, tools, machines, and processes that can help solve human problems or satisfy needs or wants, including modern computational and communication devices.

Question 15

Validity

Answer 15

The extent to which tests measure what was intended, and to which data, inferences, and actions produced from tests and other processes are accurate.

Question 16

Variable

Answer 16

In an investigation, a factor that can be changed, maintained, or measured—e.g., time, distance, light, temperature.