Counting the Cattle

When I was a kid, my dad and I would count the cattle as they crossed the road from one pasture to another. It was important to arrive at the same number and to get it correct. The only problem was that my father tended to count out loud and his counting always got me off no matter how much I tried to concentrate

Is part of the reason for your research difficulty that you are listening  to what someone else has already concluded? Are you letting their interpretations influence yours–perhaps a little too much? Sometimes it’s helpful to put away the conclusions of others and start your analysis from scratch.

Then, when you’re done counting your cows separately, you can compare your conclusions with others.