Why Do Biologists Use So Many Diagrams?

Diagrams have distinctive characteristics that make them an effective medium for communicating research findings, but they are even more impressive as tools for scientific reasoning. To explore this role, we examine diagrammatic formats that have been devised by biologists to (a) identify and illumi...

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Published in:Philosophy of Science Vol. 80; no. 5; pp. 931 - 945
Main Authors: Sheredos, Benjamin, Burnston, Daniel, Abrahamsen, Adele, Bechtel, William
Format: Article
Published: Cambridge University Press Dec2013
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Why Do Biologists Use So Many Diagrams?
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          Sheredos, Benjamin
          Burnston, Daniel
          Abrahamsen, Adele
          Bechtel, William
      su:
        Charts, diagrams, etc.
        Philosophy of science
        Biologists
        Circadian rhythms
        Biological rhythms
      sug:
        subj:
          Charts, diagrams, etc.
          Philosophy of science
          Biologists
          Circadian rhythms
          Biological rhythms
      ab: Diagrams have distinctive characteristics that make them an effective medium for communicating research findings, but they are even more impressive as tools for scientific reasoning. To explore this role, we examine diagrammatic formats that have been devised by biologists to (a) identify and illuminate phenomena involving circadian rhythms and (b) develop and modify mechanistic explanations of these phenomena.
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