| ID | 116388 |
| Title Proper | Battle of Stalingrad, biological weapons, and the expert witness |
| Other Title Information | challenging single-source evidence in intelligence studies |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Wilkinson, Mark |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In studying the sources for British foreign policy in the twentieth century we need constantly to remember that we are dealing with a laundered archive.
-Christopher Andrew, 1987 1
The problems associated with the researching of intelligence-related issues have been well documented. The ever-growing and increasingly diverse community of academics immersed in the study of intelligence share a range of common problems related not just to access to material, but also the verification of that material when it is obtained. 2 Indeed, the relative precariousness of much of the work in the field of Intelligence Studies is well recognized. Epistemologically, one of an academic's most significant challenges is attempting to verify potentially valuable material that has come from a limited or fragmentary range of sources. 3 Although the majority of researchers working in the field of Intelligence Studies trained as diplomatic, military, or colonial historians of the twentieth century, in fact, their problems are more inclined to resemble those of historians examining much earlier periods, where documentary evidence is thin. 4 Sometimes they might even resemble the intelligence officers that they are studying, trying to assess a potential "scoop" that has come in from a beguiling, but problematic, single source. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence Vol. 25, No.4; Winter 2012: p.795-813 |
| Journal Source | International Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence Vol. 25, No.4; Winter 2012: p.795-813 |
| Key Words | British Foreign Policy ; Intelligence Related Issues ; Intelligence Studies |