I've always struggled to define how I make decisions. I've said things like lead with my gut, but back up with data. But that's not right. Using data you can research a story, but when you're making a decision, it's based on your experience and knowledge too. Marissa Mayer does a great job of explaining this in the Masters of Scale podcast.
What it's called is Informed Intuition.
https://mastersofscale.com/marissa-mayer-how-to-make-the-star-employees-you-need/