I think the "you should try it either way since it may clarify your thought process or reveal problems" is important. It's often good to check your discoveries with different methods.

Of topic but in a similar vain: in a completely different field I dabble in reconstructing existing theories in structuralism. There's some very valid criticism of the method and yet it still unearths issues with theories every now and then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism_%28philosophy_of_...