Historians and social scientists routinely, and inevitably, rely on sources that are unrepresentative of the past. The articles in this special issue of the journal illustrate the widespread prevalence of selection bias in historical sources, and the ways in which historians negotiate this challenge to reach useful conclusions from valuable, if imperfect sources.

中文翻译：

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选择偏差和社会科学史

历史学家和社会科学家经常而且不可避免地依赖于不代表过去的资料。本期特刊中的文章说明了历史资料中选择偏见的普遍存在，以及历史学家如何应对这一挑战，以从有价值的、即使不完善的资料中得出有用的结论。