I think it’s just saying that pterosaur fossils get documented regardless of how they are preserved or where they are from. They are not a taxa that people tend to ignore. I feel like this is not entirely conscious since these specimens have been collected over hundreds of years but because they are large vertebrates people take interest in them. It’s heterogeneous because we are able to compile a large data set from multiple localities through the years.
This brings me to another point – I think the “where” of this paper is actually online using the Paleobiology Database since that was how they compiled their data. Obviously, it takes fossils from the field to make this data set but the database is where the research was being done. I think it highlights the importance of open data and how not all paleontology is done in the field directly. A lot of our big picture concepts come from looking at large data.
In terms of k-12, I remember reading a lot of peer-review papers in IB History classes and some in the natural sciences (since that was where my EE was in). Are there any IB Sci teachers that discuss peer review to answer @egardner ‘s question? If not I can share how we did it in history.