On the problem of theoretical terms in empirical computational linguistics

Philosophy of science has pointed out a problem of theoretical terms in empirical sciences. This problem arises if all known measuring procedures for a quantity of a theory presuppose the validity of this very theory, because then statements containing theoretical terms are circular. We argue that a...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Riezler, Stefan (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: March 04, 2014
In: Computational linguistics
Year: 2014, Jahrgang: 40, Heft: 1, Pages: 235-245
ISSN:1530-9312
DOI:10.1162/COLI_a_00182
Online-Zugang:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1162/COLI_a_00182
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Verfasserangaben:Stefan Riezler
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Philosophy of science has pointed out a problem of theoretical terms in empirical sciences. This problem arises if all known measuring procedures for a quantity of a theory presuppose the validity of this very theory, because then statements containing theoretical terms are circular. We argue that a similar circularity can happen in empirical computational linguistics, especially in cases where data are manually annotated by experts. We define a criterion of T-non-theoretical grounding as guidance to avoid such circularities, and exemplify how this criterion can be met by crowdsourcing, by task-related data annotation, or by data in the wild. We argue that this criterion should be considered as a necessary condition for an empirical science, in addition to measures for reliability of data annotation.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 21.09.2020
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1530-9312
DOI:10.1162/COLI_a_00182