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|Title=Indicators of theory acceptanceTheory Acceptance

|Formulation Text=''Indicators of theory acceptance '' are textual sources that represent the position of a scientific community regarding a theory at some time. Useful indicators are ''contextual '' to time and culture. They might include such things as ''encyclopedias'', ''textbooks'', ''university curricula'', and ''minutes of association meetings''.|Topic=Indicators of theory acceptanceTheory Acceptance

|Description=''Indicators of theory acceptance '' are historical facts that provide evidence indicating that a scientific [[Theory|theory]] was accepted by some [[Scientific Community|community]] at a particular time. The opinions of [[Individual Level|individual scientists]] are not clear indicators of the acceptance of a theory by a community. Possible indicators are sources that typically indicate the opinion of an entire scientific community such as encyclopedias, textbooks, university curricula and the minutes of association meetings. [[CiteRef::Barseghyan (2015)| pp. 113-117]]

Beginning in the eighteenth century, ''encyclopedias '' were a collective undertaking and thus typically good indicators of what was accepted at the time of their publication. However, until recently they were only published sporadically, and so generally can't provide a thorough description of successive states of the mosaic. Modern encyclopedias are a collective undertaking. Before the eighteenth century they were written by either a single author, or an isolated small group. In such cases they may contain theories championed by the author but not necessarily accepted by the community.

''Textbooks '' are typically written with the objective of presenting the current state of knowledge in their field and thus often a good gauge of accepted thinking. But because they are often written by a single or small number of authors, they should be treated with caution.

''University curricula '' similarly typically have the goal of exposing students to an accepted body of knowledge in a field. However, theories that are not considered the best available theory are sometimes nonetheless taught. Classical physics is taught to modern physics students not because it is deemed the best available description of its subject matter but because it is useful for many practical applications and is simpler and easier to understand than the more advanced treatments using quantum physics or general relativity theory. Items can also sometimes be included in a curriculum out of historical interest rather than current value.

''Minutes of association meetings '' can also sometimes be indicative of the stance of a community towards a particular theory. However, minutes can often provide only a fragmentary indication of what was accepted and what was not.

No indicators of theory acceptance are universal or conclusive. Indicators are ''contextual '' to their time and cultural circumstances.

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|Accepted From Year=20152016