What Counts as Scientific Data? A Relational Framework

2015/12/01 by Sabina Leonelli · 206 citations
Arts and Humanities · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Big data #Biomedical Text Mining and Ontologies #Computer science #Data mining #Data science #Epistemology #Philosophy #Philosophy and History of Science #Race, Genetics, and Society #Relational database #Software portability #Value (mathematics)

paper · open access · doi:10.1086/684083

published in Philosophy of Science 82(5), 810-821 (Cambridge University Press)

openalex publication_date 2015/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

This paper proposes an account of scientific data that makes sense of recent debates on data-driven research, while also building on the history of data production and use particularly within biology. In this view, 'data' is a relational category applied to research outputs that are taken, at specific moments of inquiry, to provide evidence for knowledge claims of interest to the researchers involved. They do not have truth-value in and of themselves, nor can they be seen as straightforward representations of given phenomena. Rather, they are fungible objects defined by their portability and their prospective usefulness as evidence.

Citations

• Models as Mediators

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