Social science methodologies had to be adapted to a discipline governed by the primacy of historical sources rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world.

【翻译】社会科学的研究方法，必须适应这样的原则：以史料的主导地位而非以当今世界的需求来支配。

【分析】governed by the primacy of historical sources rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world：过去分词短语作定语，修饰discipline。

1. governed by…：由……支配

2. the primacy of historical sources：史料的首要性（首要地位）

3. rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world：而不是当今世界的需求