I think that Tompkins comes to her conclusions not by just those perspectives of others but she was gaining her own throughout the research. She found that not only was she getting different conclusions, she was making up her own. She must come to the conclusion with the best of her knowledge but also not discarding the information that doesn't piece together neatly. It may come to her need later on in her research. I believe that everybody has their own perspective of an event and that there is some truth related to it but it is your own perspective that you need to follow
Krysta Crippen