Note 93

One of the most important issues in applied social science is understanding the correct level of analysis. Academics tend to speak in dangerously misleading generalities. This means that what they do is tangentially useful to the real world. The practitioner's job is to connect the many tangents within the current context. It is about identifying the appropriate level of analysis to the situation, and weighing the factors. This is an exercise in judgement, which is the ability to piece together key facts in a roughly right way in the presence of incomplete information.