Abstract policy and scientific reasoning
Name observation, inference, condition, and limit precisely.
A vocabulary of evidence
In the fictional Bellacqua case, ipotesi is a claim to test, protocollo is the planned method, osservazione is a recorded event, campione is the set of observed cases, and inferenza is a conclusion drawn from evidence. A denominatore tells us what a count is out of. The eighteen voluntary comments have a denominator of eighteen for statements about that group, not a denominator of all residents. A future entry count would measure visits during the three evenings, not the number of people who wanted to attend but could not.
- Il protocollo prevede un conteggio degli ingressi.· The protocol calls for an entry count.
- Undici commenti favorevoli su diciotto: questo è il denominatore.· Eleven favourable comments out of eighteen: that is the denominator.
- I commenti volontari non sono un campione rappresentativo.· The voluntary comments are not a representative sample.
- L’inferenza deve restare entro i dati disponibili.· The inference must stay within the available data.
Separate proposal from effect
Use stimare for an estimate, rilevare for an observation, attribuire for assigning a cause, and verificare for checking a requirement. Association between a future opening and recorded visits would not alone show how many visits would have happened without that opening. State whether you are describing a plan, a possible observation, or a warranted conclusion. Words such as qualora and benché express logical relations; they do not create missing data.
- Novecento euro sono un costo stimato.· Nine hundred euros are an estimated cost.
- Gli ingressi saranno rilevati soltanto se il pilota avrà luogo.· Entries will be recorded only if the pilot takes place.
- Non possiamo attribuire un effetto permanente a tre serate non ancora svolte.· We cannot attribute a lasting effect to three evenings that have not yet happened.
- La verifica dell’accessibilità precede il voto.· The accessibility check precedes the vote.