In a recent telephone survey of over 6,000 Americans, the Pew Internet

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 335, Date : 17-Sep-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

In a recent telephone survey of over 6,000 Americans, the Pew Internet & American Life Project has concluded that African Americans' usage of internet technology lags behind that of whites. Survey respondents who identified as African Americans trailed whites by seven percentage points in use of the internet; 87% of whites and 80% of blacks are internet users. Moreover, 74% of white respondents had broadband internet access in their home, whereas 62% of black respondents had such access.
 
Although the Pew survey appears to draw on a representative slice of Americans using careful survey methods, its results may suffer from having answered an inherently misleading question. The survey found, for example, that black and white internet usage and access is identical once other variables are controlled. Namely, 86% of African Americans respondents aged 18-29 were home broadband adopters, as were 88% of African Americans college graduates and 91% of blacks with an annual household income of $75,000 or more per year. These figures were not only well above the national average for broadband adoption, but, more to the point, they were identical to whites of similar ages, incomes, and education levels. It follows that internet adoption has nothing to do with race per se and everything to do with some or all of the factors age, educational attainment, and household income. If internet adoption correlates primarily with household income, as other studies of technology would suggest, then the survey in question does little more than lead us back to the fact that African Americans have a lower average household income than white Americans--a fact which has already been established. Nevertheless, the Pew study is a confirmation and a reminder of the fact that the current income difference between whites and blacks in America is having an impact on African Americans' access to technology and to the benefits that accrue from efficient access to the internet.   1 
 A 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. reinterpret the findings of a research study
B. refute the findings of a field of research
C. report new research findings
D. evaluate the methodology of a study
E. reconcile some conflicting research results

2 
 A 
 2. According to the passage, the Pew study is flawed in that it

A. presents as an issue of race what is truly an issue of income
B. was conducted by telephone and surveyed only a slice of Americans
C. failed to control for certain variables
D. failed to explore deeply enough the psychological motivations of individuals to adopt or not adopt the internet
E. studied not only internet usage but also race and income

3 
 D 
 3. According to the passage, which of the following questions did the authors of the study fail to consider correctly?

A. Whether to emphasize Americans' rates of access to the internet or the benefits that accrue from that access
B. Whether the current income difference between whites and blacks in America is having an impact on blacks' access to the internet
C. How to collect relevant information simultaneously about internet use, race, and income
D. Whether to present the findings in terms of race or in terms of income
E. Whether their findings had already been established in similar surveys

4 
 C 
 4. The author implies that the study's findings

A. are misleading in virtually every respect
B. sound in methodology, but based on flawed data
C. based on sound data, but summarized in a misleading fashion
D. misleading in the omission of how the survey data were collected and analyzed
E. biased by the researchers' personal beliefs about race

5 
 C 
 5. The passage implies that, among the set of variables discussed, the single factor best explaining different rates of broadband internet adoption is most likely

A. race
B. educational attainment
C. household income
D. a composite variable of age, educational attainment, and household income
E. any single factor other than race

6 
 B 
 6. The author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

A. It is better to present accurately summarized findings based on somewhat flawed data than poorly summarized findings based on accurate data.
B. It is better to present research findings that repeat an already well-established point than to present more novel but potentially misleading results.
C. It is better to present conservative research findings than controversial findings, even if the controversial findings are thought-provoking.
D. It is better not to conduct a survey in the first place than to collect survey data and present the findings of that survey in a misleading fashion.
E. It is better to conduct a survey that measures fewer variables, so that those variables can be controlled for more accurately.

Source:  GMAT Free  (18)
Difficulty Level:   700

Mizar18 · Answer

Hi  SajjadAhmad

Please could you explain question 3?

3. According to the passage, which of the following questions did the authors of the study fail to consider correctly?

A. Whether to emphasize Americans' rates of access to the internet or the benefits that accrue from that access
B. Whether the current income difference between whites and blacks in America is having an impact on blacks' access to the internet
C. How to collect relevant information simultaneously about internet use, race, and income
D. Whether to present the findings in terms of race or in terms of income
E. Whether their findings had already been established in similar surveys

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. According to the passage, which of the following questions did the authors of the study fail to consider correctly?

Explanation

This question might probe details that we have forgotten or even missed in our read, but we can still start with a sense of the main point: the survey, according to the author, was presenting a question that is primarily about household income as one that is primarily about race. Let's see how that sheds light on the answer choices.

(A)  mentions neither income nor race.  (B) through (D)  all mention race and income, making them good contenders to be the correct answer.

(E) is out ; the author does believe that the findings have been established in similar surveys, but says this survey is a  "confirmation and a reminder"  of those findings and faults the survey on other grounds (the interpretation/framing). So we are left with  (B)  through  (D) .

(C) , once again, concerns the methodology. Being clear that the author has no issue with the methodology of this survey has allowed us to eliminate a few answer choices across these questions.

Choice (D)  encapsulates our prediction: what had been presented in terms of race should have been presented in terms of income. Is there an objective defect in (B)? This is tricky, because  (B)  might sound quite similar to  (B) . The key point here is that the author makes her argument based solely on information provided by the report.  "The survey found, for example, that black and white internet usage and access is identical once other variables are controlled."  That sentence and the following discussion show that the survey did account for how income and race were related variables in the survey--the survey authors just presented the results in a misleading fashion.

The correct answer is (D).

Hope it helps

navderm · Answer

SajjadAhmad  :

For question 2, I picked, C. (after zoning down to A and C). 
How do you reject C in 2 ?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. According to the passage, the Pew study is flawed in that it

Explanation

This question, again, asks us something we have already answered for ourselves. As we've discussed, the flaw in this study, according to the author, is that it asks a  "misleading question"  by framing this subject in terms primarily of race. Let's see which answer choices fit that notion.  (A) does, and (E) might .

(E)  must have an objective flaw. The author implies at multiple points that it's good that the survey included race and income. Her conclusion, after all, is that income is the key variable, so of course it must be studied. And the other uses the data collected by the survey about race to construct her argument, so it would be inconsistent for her to think that it was not of use.

(C)   In the second half of the second paragraph it has been thoroughly narrated that the racial difference are the basic reason for the differences, Black people are behind the Whites in not only internet usage but in other fields of life. Option C is partially discussed in the start of the second paragraph but it didn't capture the central point of the question.

The correct answer is (A).

Hope it helps

Abhinav_1630 · Answer

Hi  SajjadAhmad

Can you please explain question 4 and 6?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. The author implies that the study's findings

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

By the time we've gotten to this question, we've gone over and over again the author's point. The methodology is fine; the data are fine; the result is presented in a misleading fashion. The only fitting  answer choice is (C) . It's not rare for GMAT passages to hammer repeatedly at the same point. It's a reason to be sure to capture the important points when you read, and also to "sharpen as you go" from one question to the next.

Answer: C

6. The author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

Difficulty Level:   700-750

Explanation

In this question, as in all questions that sound like mind-reading questions, we are employing not psychology, but logic, and the correct answer will be the one that is most suggested or even required by the statements already made by the author of the passage. Since the question gives us no details to grab onto, we can begin by evaluating the answer choices relative to the point of the passage, which is that the survey, while good in many respects, has framed its results in a misleading way. If we survey the questions and we don't have strong immediate reactions, we can search for objective defects and start eliminating.

(E)  contradicts the fact that the author has used the data collected in the survey to construct her argument, so  (E)  is out.

(D)  overstates the author's criticism of the survey; she finishes the passage by partly defending the survey as a  "confirmation and a reminder"  of a known point. So  (D)  is out.

Choice (C)  is completely apart from the scope of the passage, as the author hasn't directly or indirectly talked about whether the findings are controversial and whether that would be a good thing. So  (C)  is out.

We are left with  (A) and (B) . Which is objectively flawed? Or, alternatively, must one of them be true?  (B)  must be a belief of the author in order for her position to be consistent. She criticizes the study for having been summarized in a misleading way, and then partly defends the study as a  "confirmation and reminder"  of a well-established point. In saying that the authors should correct the way the study is framed and let it be a less interesting reminder of already established results, she is assuming and implying  (B) .

Choice (A) , meanwhile, describes a tougher decision, and we don't have the grounds to know where the author would stand on this issue. By citing the integrity of the data, and using the data in her argument, she implies that the accuracy of the data are important, and we don't have sufficient information to know whether she thinks the data or the framing are more important. If anything, she is likely to think the data are more important, oppositely to  (A) , since in the present case, with accurate data, the survey can be reinterpreted and repaired.

The correct answer is (B).

Hope it helps

ricardorr04 · Answer

Only got question 3 wrong, finished all in 8 minutes, including 2.5mins to read.

What level is question 3?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Welcome! to GMAT Club

The difficulty level of question number 3 is hard (700-750).

Good Luck

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