Premise: Combining site visits to Brazil, Japan, West Germany, and France, interviews with many officials of appropriate agencies and from the private sector, examination of official government files, and a questionnaire survey of high technology firms active in the Brazilian market, the evaluators amassed a rich array of contextual and focal information and identified four trade practices considered to be key factors in export competitiveness in Brazilian markets.

Hypothesis: The evaluators went with their gut, forsaking any traditional information gathering processes. 
Relation: contradiction