High-quality studies also lay out a methodology for evaluating, assessing, and ultimately characterizing the issue, so that the impact of policy changes can be

High-quality studies also lay out a methodology for evaluating, assessing, and ultimately characterizing the issue, so that the impact of policy changes can be properly assessed. Even showing that well-known investigatory methods function adequately for a given problem is of value. Put another way, "you can't control what you can't measure" (or in this case, characterize more generally).