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Eliminating bias: scoring blind

It is also good practice, if you are scoring visual traits, to do it blind – that is, without looking at the names of the plots or accessions. Although you may be sure that you can score without a bias, it is human nature to have expectations about how a certain line will score.

An exception, of course, is for the control plot you are using to orientate you in the field, or to give you a standard for your visual scoring scale