how did francis crick and james watson try to understand dna?
well people at that time were obsessed with finding what the key to life was and Watson and Crick took the data from other scientists who were studying the same subject, they analyzed the data from Cargraff’s studies about how A only pairs with T and C with G. They also looked at x-rays made by Rosiland Franklin. They also looked at data produced by Maurice Wilkins(read more in source sites)So basicly watson and crick took other peoples data and compiled it to produce the double helix model, since the other people were not working with each other each had a piece of the puzzle but could not completely decipher DNA.