Towards an Analysis of Scientific Observation: The Externality and Evidential Significance of Observational Reports in Physics

In this paper a new schema for the analysis of scientific observation is proposed. The concepts of `externality' and `evidential' context of observational reports are introduced. The degree of externality of reports is shown to be related to the specificity of the evidential context. Attention is drawn to how the new concepts differ from traditional issues raised by the problem of the theory-ladenness of observations. The analysis is illustrated by reference to the detection of solar neutrinos and measurements of solar oblateness. Detailed studies of these cases reveal how the externality and evidential context shifts during the course of observational disputes. Some of the consequences of the new schema for the analysis of scientific language, access to experimental data, and black-box instrumentation are developed.

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