In that regard, it can be stated that the absence of any assessment methods of any discoveries at that time was among the main factors hindering the researchers from acknowledging which data was important. In that regard, initially being an assumption that the water was the cause, Snow’s decision of the importance of the data led to the conclusion through an experimentum crucis, an experiment through which Snow would convincingly prove his hypothesis. The acknowledgement of the importance of such data came with the map that Snow draw of the location of the houses, where death occurred. All these data was related to the statistics of deaths and infection, contrary to other researchers who relied solely on statistics. Such information included the preferences for the water source, washing habits, drinking habits, geographic patterns, relatives’ address, etc. Such social context, which combined with the local knowledge brought by Henry Whitehead, another main character in the story, allowed Snow to indentify the chain of infection, traced back to the source.
It can be stated that the differences between the data collected by Snow and Whitehead, and other researchers are in their social context.
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