"An important role of statistical analysis in science is for interpreting observed data as evidence--showing 'what the data say.' Although the standard statistical methods (hypothesis testing, estimation, confidence intervals) are routinely used for this purpose, the theory behind those methods contains no defined concept of evidence, and no answer to the basic question: 'When is it correct to say that a given body of data represents evidence supporting one statistical hypothesis over another?' or to its sequel: 'Can we give an objective measure of the strength of statistical evidence?'" From "The Nature of Scientific Evidence"An exploration of the statistical foundations of scientific inference, "The Nature of Scientific Evidence" asks what constitutes scientific evidence and whether scientific evidence can be quantified statistically. Mark Taper, Subhash Lele, and an esteemed group of contributors explore the relationships among hypotheses, models, data, and inference on which scientific progress rests in an attempt to develop a new quantitative framework for evidence. Informed by interdisciplinary discussions among scientists, philosophers, and statisticians, they propose a new "evidential" approach, which may be more in keeping with the scientific method. "The Nature of Scientific Evidence" persuasively argues that all scientists should care more about the fine points of statistical philosophy because therein lies the connection between theory and data.Though the book uses ecology as an exemplary science, the interdisciplinary evaluation of the use of statistics in empirical research will be of interest to any reader engaged in the quantification and evaluation of data.