Data Interpretation in the Digital Age
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Internet databases have become prominent tools for data dissemination. This paper examines the conditions under which data posted online enhance biologists' understanding of organisms, and particularly how knowledge acquired through physical interaction with biological materials is used to assess the evidential value of data found online. I conclude that familiarity with research in vivo and in vitro is crucial to assessing the quality and significance of data visualised in silico; and that studying how data are disseminated and interpreted in the digital age fosters a view of scientific understanding as social and distributed, rather than individual and localized.
Source: Perspectives on Science
DOI: 10.1162/posc_a_00140
Author: Sabina Leonelli
Institution: University of Exeter
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2141346901