When similar investigations give different results, the scientific challenge
is to judge whether the differences are trivial or significant, and it
often takes further studies to decide. Even with similar results, scientists
may wait until an investigation has been repeated many times before accepting
the results as correct.
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History and Nature of Science: Nature of science Grades 5-8, page 171 In areas where active research is being pursued and in which there is
not a great deal of experimental or observational evidence and understanding,
it is normal for scientists to differ with one another about the interpretation
of the evidence or theory being considered. Different scientists might
publish conflicting experimental results or might draw different conclusions
from the same data. Ideally, scientists acknowledge such conflict and work
towards finding evidence that will resolve their disagreement.
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