Data models, representation and adequacy-for-purpose

European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11 (1):1-26 (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

We critically engage two traditional views of scientific data and outline a novel philosophical view that we call the pragmatic-representational view of data. On the PR view, data are representations that are the product of a process of inquiry, and they should be evaluated in terms of their adequacy or fitness for particular purposes. Some important implications of the PR view for data assessment, related to misrepresentation, context-sensitivity, and complementary use, are highlighted. The PR view provides insight into the common but little-discussed practices of iteratively reusing and repurposing data, which result in many datasets’ having a phylogeny—an origin and complex evolutionary history—that is relevant to their evaluation and future use. We relate these insights to the open-data and data-rescue movements, and highlight several future avenues of research that build on the PR view of data.

Other Versions

No versions found

Similar books and articles

Towards a Taxonomy of the Model-Ladenness of Data.Alisa Bokulich - forthcoming - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association.
Data, Representation, and Evidential Values in Biology.Jinyeong Gim - 2023 - Korean Journal for the Philosophy of Science 26 (2):31-58.
Data identity and perspectivism.Franklin Jacoby - 2020 - Synthese 198 (12):11695-11711.
What distinguishes data from models?Sabina Leonelli - 2019 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 9 (2):22.
Data Synthesis for Big Questions: From Animal Tracks to Ecological Models.Rose Trappes - 2024 - Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology 16 (1):4.

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-12-19

Downloads
1,072 (#18,953)

6 months
204 (#15,263)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author Profiles

Alisa Bokulich
Boston University
Wendy Parker
Virginia Tech

References found in this work

Models in Science (2nd edition).Roman Frigg & Stephan Hartmann - 2021 - The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Scientific Representation: Paradoxes of Perspective.Bas C. Van Fraassen - 2008 - Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press UK.
Data-Centric Biology: A Philosophical Study.Sabina Leonelli - 2016 - London: University of Chicago Press.
How models are used to represent reality.Ronald N. Giere - 2004 - Philosophy of Science 71 (5):742-752.

View all 47 references / Add more references