Bokulich, Alisa (2018) Using Models to Correct Data: Paleodiversity and the Fossil Record. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Despite an enormous philosophical literature on models in science, surprisingly little has been written about data models and how they are constructed. In this paper, I examine the case of how paleodiversity data models are constructed from the fossil data. In particular, I show how paleontologists are using various model-based techniques to correct the data. Drawing on this research, I argue for the following related theses: First, the 'purity' of a data model is not a measure of its epistemic reliability. Instead it is the fidelity of the data that matters. Second, the fidelity of a data model in capturing the signal of interest is a matter of degree. Third, the fidelity of a data model can be improved 'vicariously', such as through the use of post hoc model-based correction techniques. And, fourth, data models, like theoretical models, should be assessed as adequate (or inadequate) for particular purposes.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Additional Information: | Forthcoming in Synthese | ||||||
| Keywords: | scientific model, data model, earth science, paleodiversity, paleontology, fossil, fidelity, reliability, data, model | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Data General Issues > Confirmation/Induction Specific Sciences > Earth Sciences General Issues > Models and Idealization |
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| Depositing User: | Alisa Bokulich | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 18 May 2018 18:58 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 18 May 2018 18:58 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 14688 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Data General Issues > Confirmation/Induction Specific Sciences > Earth Sciences General Issues > Models and Idealization |
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| Date: | 2018 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14688 |
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