James B. Collins Vs Jacob Soll

How has the methodology employed in the given history shaped the interpretation of its source base and conclusions?

In response to this question, a complete precis will note: 1) the research question the historian has posed to their topic; 2) the answer, or argument, the historian mounts in their text; 3) the sources the historian uses to substantiate that argument; and, in particular, 4) the methodological approach the historian takes to the analysis of their sources, and how that approach shapes their interpretation of their sources, narrative and, conclusion. When possible, the précis should also consider the contribution the historian makes to the historiographical debate, as assigned for that week, by comparing/contrasting it to (at least) one to two other secondary sources. In particular, the précis should examine how the historian’s approach, or methodology, has informed, if not determined, their selection, and exclusion, of voices, ideas, cultural norms and practices, institutions, (systemic) processes, material things and events for the purview of their narrative, as well as the conclusions the historian reaches about their topic and the contribution they (purportedly) make to the larger historiography.

Use Chicago Manual of Style: Adherence of Precis to the SMOS’s guidelines for citations and style

Sources:
James B. Collins, The State in Early Modern France (CUP, 1995), chs. 3: “Louis XIV and the Creation of the Modern State” and 6: “Reform, Renewal and Collapse.”

Use link provided:
https://archive.org/details/stateinearlymode0000coll/page/n15/mode/2up

Jacob Soll, The Information Master (Michigan, 2009), chs. 1-2, 5 and 8.
PDF provided in sources