Faulty analysis, not missing data, often explains weak historical reconstructions of decisions

Evidence

In contrast to the ambiguous links between mass publics and political outcomes other than elections, the connections between political decision-makers and political outcomes are direct and palpable. Nevertheless, many historical reconstructions of political decision-making are insufficiently specific about which actors in what precise contexts took which actions with what consequences. Sometimes the historical record does not contain the appropriate data. Often, however, the difficulty is not with the record but with the way it has been analyzed. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1193

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Pure text-based qualitative analysis collapses when it lacks resistance from wider evidence — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1958