When confronted with something totally new, try to associate it with existing knowledge. For example, a crime scene in a park in a different community can be compared with a park that you know. Parks have certain common traits. There should be the public restrooms, the emergency call telephones, the recreational facilities, the ranger's station, and so on. The layout varies, but the overall concept remains constant. remember that the people who design things, whether they be architects, engineers, or zoo planner, receive common training in their respective professions.
Documents Examining documents usually tries our perceptive abilities to the limit.
When confronting a large stack of records, the urge is to scan for significant bits and pieces. From a quick scan, however, glossing over important facts often is the end result. A scan should serve merely to get the lay of the land. Careful study yields truth's gems. The study method, however, needs an approach, a philosophy, behind it to be effective.