Project Blue Book Special Report (second copy)

forgetting the subjectivity of the data at the time that conclusions are
drawn from the analysis. It must be emphasized, again and again, that any
conclusions contained in this report are based NOT on facts, but on what
many observers thojight and estimated the_ true facts to be.
Altogether, the data for this study consisted of approximately 4, 000
reports of sightings of unidentified aerial objects. The majority were re-
ceived through military channels or in the form of observer-completed
questionnaires; a few were accepted in the form of direct letters from un-
questionably reliable sources. Sightings made between June, 1947, and
December, 1952, were considered for this study. Sightings alleged to have
occurred prior to 1947 were not considered, since they were not reported
to official sources until after public interest in "flying saucers" had been
stimulated by the popular press.
REDUCTION OF DATA TO MECHANIZED COMPUTATION FORM
As received by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, the sighting
reports were not in a form suitable for even a quasi-scientific study. A
preliminary review of the data indicated the need for standardized interro-
gation procedures and supplemental forms for the reduction of currently
held and subsequently acquired data to a form amenable to scientific
appraisal.
The plan for reduction of the data to usable form consisted of a pro-
gram of development comprising four major steps: (1) a systematic listing
of the factors necessary to evaluate the observer and his report, and to
identify the unknown object observed; (2) a standard scheme for the trans-
fer of data to a mechanized computation system; (3) an orderly means of
relating the original data to all subsequent forms; and (4) a consistent pro-
cedure for the identification of the phenomenon described by the original
data.
Questionnaire
The first reports received by ATIC varied widely in completeness
and quality. Air Force Letter 200-5vW and Air Force Form 112(1) w e r e
attempts to fix responsibility for and improve the quality of the reports of
sightings. To coordinate past efforts and to provide standardization for the
(1) A modified Air Force Form 112 lists pertinent questions to be answered in regard to an unidentified-dbject
sighting.
(2) Air Force Letter 200-5 places responsibility with the Air Force for the investigation, reporting, and
analysis of unidentified aerial objects. This letter is dated 29 April 1952.