Connolly (2018:29): “a certain degree of empathy is required to carry out a balanced and sober analysis. This should not be conflated with sympathy (Monaghan 2016). It is not the job of a balanced analyst to comment on whether he or she ‘agrees’ with the way in which the subject of analysis behaves. Whether the subject’s response is, in the view of the analyst, morally correct or objectionable is of even less importance.”
English (2019:24): "there cannot be an absolute separation between the student and the thing being studied, between the researcher and the subject of their research." Historical knowledge cannot be fully objective, but nor does that mean it is arbitrary or illusory.