What principles guide scientific inquiry in biology?
Scientific principles and process: hypotheses and predictions, the scientific method and pilot studies, independent, dependent and confounding variables, ethics in research, primary and secondary sources, and peer review.
An SQA Advanced Higher Biology answer on scientific principles and process, covering hypotheses and predictions, the scientific method and pilot studies, independent, dependent and confounding variables, ethics in biological research, the difference between primary and secondary sources, and the role of peer review.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this key area is asking
The SQA wants you to explain the principles that guide scientific inquiry: how hypotheses and predictions are framed, the role of the scientific method and pilot studies, the kinds of variable in an experiment, the ethics of biological research, the difference between primary and secondary sources, and the role of peer review. This underpins the whole project.
Hypotheses and predictions
The scientific method and pilot studies
Variables
Ethics, sources and peer review
Examples in context
Example 1. A drug-trial pilot study. Before a full clinical trial, researchers run a small pilot to check dosing, refine the procedure and spot confounding factors such as participants' age. The example shows a pilot study improving validity before resources are committed.
Example 2. Retraction after peer review failure. When a flawed paper passes review and is later found unreliable, it is retracted, prompting stricter checks. The example shows peer review as a quality-control process that can fail and be corrected, central to how science self-regulates.
Try this
Q1. State what a hypothesis is. [1 mark]
- Cue. A testable proposed explanation for an observation.
Q2. Explain why a pilot study is run before the main investigation. [2 marks]
- Cue. To trial and refine the method, set a suitable range, check feasibility and identify confounding variables to control.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA AH style4 marksDistinguish between independent, dependent and confounding variables, and explain why confounding variables must be controlled.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark answer needs the three definitions and the reason for control.
The independent variable is the factor the investigator deliberately changes. The dependent variable is the factor that is measured and is expected to respond. A confounding variable is any other factor that could affect the dependent variable.
Confounding variables must be controlled, kept constant or accounted for, because otherwise a change in the dependent variable could be due to the confounding variable rather than the independent variable, so the experiment would not be valid.
Markers reward (1) independent is changed, (2) dependent is measured, (3) confounding is another factor that could affect the result, and (4) it must be controlled to keep the experiment valid.
SQA AH style3 marksExplain the purpose of a pilot study and the role of peer review.Show worked answer →
A 3-mark answer needs the pilot study purpose and the peer review purpose.
A pilot study is a small-scale trial run carried out before the main investigation. It is used to test and refine the method, choose a suitable range and intervals for the independent variable, check the procedure is feasible and identify confounding variables to control.
Peer review is the evaluation of scientific work by independent experts before publication. It checks the quality, validity and originality of the work and improves it, helping ensure that published findings are reliable.
Markers reward (1) a pilot study trials and refines the method or range, (2) it checks feasibility or identifies problems, and (3) peer review is expert evaluation before publication that maintains quality.
Related dot points
- Experimentation: observational versus experimental studies, controls, placebos and blinding, randomisation, replication and sampling, in vivo, in vitro and in situ studies, and the treatment of error and uncertainty.
An SQA Advanced Higher Biology answer on experimentation, covering observational versus experimental studies, positive and negative controls, placebos and blinding, randomisation, replication and sampling, in vivo, in vitro and in situ approaches, and the treatment of random and systematic error and uncertainty.
- Communication and scientific literacy: presenting data, descriptive and inferential statistics, evaluating reliability and validity, the critical evaluation of research, scientific ethics and integrity, and the structure of a scientific report.
An SQA Advanced Higher Biology answer on communication and scientific literacy, covering the presentation of data, descriptive and inferential statistics, the evaluation of reliability and validity, the critical evaluation of biological research, scientific ethics and integrity in reporting, and the structure of a scientific report.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA Advanced Higher Biology Course Specification — SQA (2019)