The works cited in my parody article provide a plethora of examples of how not to proceed. But the reading is theory-laden. Which means pure description based on observation is not possible. Scientists require other tools such as machines, mathematics, and infer what they see from what they believe. Our observations are not merely encodings of our prior beliefs.
Every scientist knows that even our best-confirmed theories are in general only approximate truths.
Epistemology at this rarefied level may not have many political implications, but it is a fascinating and important part of the human struggle to know the truth about the universe in which we live. Alan Sokal is Professor of Physics at New York University.