The phrase "prior understanding of" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use the phrase when referring to a person's previous knowledge or understanding of something. For example, "Given my prior understanding of the situation, I thought the decision would be different."
Thus, to take a simple example, if we wish to understand some particular artwork, we already need to have some prior understanding of that work (even if only as a set of paint marks on canvas), otherwise it cannot even be seen as something to be understood.
This is not the case in co-ops, where every year offers opportunities for new people, who must have no prior understanding of how things have worked before, to be elected by members.
The meaning of this word cannot be grasped independently of a prior understanding of the notion of a circle.
Consequently, these findings envisage for prior understanding of the architecture of targeted oilseed and selection of influential parameters to choose the best combination of enzymes.
The second activity of Lesson 1, Models and Medicine, is designed to reveal students' prior understanding of common ancestry and their ability to interpret evolutionary trees, or phylogenies.
Effective injury prevention, patient care and rehabilitation all require a prior understanding of injury epidemiology in order to develop an effective response.
The single, blinding release of pure energy over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6 , 1945 marked a startling and permanent break with our prior understandings of the visible world.
With limited prior understandings of the topic, an exploratory approach was used, where chronic cough – a known TB symptom and condition more likely to be witnessed and recognised at the community and lay levels than TB – was the main entry point for the investigation.
The only way to be sure… The single, blinding release of pure energy over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6 , 1945 marked a startling and permanent break with our prior understandings of… Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Georgia, keeps late hours.
That is, prior understanding and knowledge of the field allowed the review to be undertaken in a more integrated way.
The reliability of the findings is therefore related to the researcher's prior understanding and her interpretation of the data.
