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What distinguishes ‘good’ from ‘weak’ evidence in the human sciences?

Is there a clash between accuracy and speed in the social media age?

Is knowledge in the human sciences always tainted by the ‘observer effect’?

How should we conceive of ‘wisdom’?

Is “Never trust a scientist” valid advice?

How immediate do we need to be to something in order to evaluate it with validity?

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Why do ideas in the human sciences get reevaluated over time?

Overall, do ‘natural experiments’ provide us with better knowledge than ‘laboratory manufactured’ insights?

How much ‘new evidence’ does it take to move knowledge on in the human sciences?

Has ‘big data’ made the human sciences more objective?

To what extent are the human sciences based on observation and experimentation?

Do academic traditions support or stifle the production of knowledge (in the human sciences)?

Are models useful in helping to produce knowledge in the human sciences?

Can accurate predictions be made in the human sciences?

Can ideas ever be produced in isolation?

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Can (/should) claims in the human sciences be based on personal experiences?

How should competing claims be evaluated in the human sciences?

Is all academic research ultimately tainted by confirmation bias?

How does applying a ‘fox-like approach’ help us to ‘embrace multiple perspectives’?

How do personal and societal perspectives affect the conclusions formed by human scientists?

Can we escape the Hawthorne effect in the human sciences?

How do assumptions lead us astray?

Do cognitive biases have more of an influence in the production of knowledge in the human sciences than in other areas of knowledge?

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What role do models play in producing knowledge about the world?

Is it possible to present data objectively?

How can data visualizations be manipulated in order to spin the knowledge they communicate?

Was Sir Charles Dilke right to say “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics”?

How does it change our understanding of something when we (radically) alter our terminology related to it?

Does the language used within questionnaires and surveys always influence the outcome of the knowledge produced?

How do ‘shifting meanings’ complicate the way we approach debates in the human sciences?

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Do ethical considerations hinder or help the production of knowledge in the human sciences?

How essential is empathy in understanding the human condition – and why are some people reluctant to apply it?

Can we make moral judgements about knowledge produced by human scientists the past?

Are human scientists more hampered by ethical constraints than other areas of knowledge?

Does the possession of knowledge about human behaviour carry with it special ethical obligations?

Is it our responsibility to think in a certain way about the human sciences?

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What qualifies a field as a human science?

How can we distinguish valid data from misleading data in the human sciences?

Are the human sciences really ‘scientific’?

What challenges are associated with trying to explain human behaviour?

To what extent are the human sciences based on certain assumptions?

What should be subject to more scrutiny in the human sciences: methods or results?

Should (and can) human sciences be subject to replication as part of the scientific method?

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Good KQs ask how we know about the world (second-order knowledge), rather than what we know about the world (first-order knowledge). Being able to tell the difference between first and second-order knowledge can be difficult, but it is the most important attribute of successful TOK thinking - and will form the basis of your essay and exhibition.

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Use our other free padlets on this area of knowledge - the quotes, real-world issues, and key thinkers - to explore and answer these KQs, trying to identify and challenge your assumptions as you do so.

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Although the KQs you see here relate primarily to human sciences, many of them link to other AOKs and themes, so bear this in mind as you consider them.

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Knowledge questions (KQs) form the heart of TOK, providing us with the opportunity to discuss, explore, and sometimes argue about the way we acquire and use our knowledge about the world.