Kind of defeats the purpose of studying it doesn't it? Presumably we do research to inform decision, usually about social policy. Social policy is, ostensibly,

Kind of defeats the purpose of studying it doesn't it? Presumably we do research to inform decision, usually about social policy. Social policy is, ostensibly, dictated by voters in democratic societies. Might as well not do the research, and I don't mean that cynically. It might genuinely be for the best.