A word for reporting observations without drawing conclusions [closed]

Question

I recently read an article about Navy pilots seeing something they couldn't identify and thought they did a good job of reporting on the incident without making assumptions as to what they were seeing.

I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe this type of reporting in which the observer strictly states their observation without drawing conclusions about, or inferences from, what was observed.

Sample sentence...

I appreciated the witness's _________ style of reporting their observations without making inferences or drawing conclusions as to what it was they were witnessing.

Answer 1

objective ODO

1 (of a person or their judgement) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.
1.1 Not dependent on the mind for existence; actual.

The opposite is subjective, where the person offers their opinions or conclusions.

Answer 2

Factual.

restricted to or based on fact

Facts are unembellished, stubborn things that aren't always convenient, but are incredibly persistent. A factual account doesn't lend itself to any bias or agenda.

Answer 3

Try descriptive. Oxford Dictionaries:

2. Describing or classifying in an objective and non-judgemental way.

Especially when describing research or study, descriptive denotes that one is focusing on observations rather than making conjectures or conclusions on the basis of those observations. In this way, one can refer to "descriptive research" (a set of research methods centered on description, like observations, case studies, or surveys), "descriptive data" (data "describing what is," according to one publication) and "descriptive journalism" (described in the introduction to the Historical Dictionary of Journalism as "neutral, descriptive journalism" as opposed to "a more analytical and interpretive journalism").

All of these uses inherently suppose that the quality of description is reliable and that observer bias is minimized. Hence:

I found the descriptive reporting to be a refreshing example of news without assumptions or bias.

I appreciated the witness's descriptive style of reporting their observations without making inferences or drawing conclusions as to what it was they were witnessing.