At the end of the nineteenth century, a rising interest in Native Amer

1. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
(A) The historical backgrounds of two currently used research methods are chronicled.
(B) The validity of the data collected by using two different research methods is compared.
(C) The usefulness of a research method is questioned and then a new method is proposed.
(D) The use of a research method is described and the limitations of the results obtained are discussed.
(E) A research method is evaluated and the changes necessary for its adaptation to other subject areas are discussed.
2. Which of the following is most similar to the actions of nineteenth-century ethnologists in their editing of the life stories of Native Americans?
(A) A witness in a jury trial invokes the Fifth Amendment in order to avoid relating personally incriminating evidence.
(B) A stockbroker refuses to divulge the source of her information on the possible future increase in a stock’s value.
(C) A sports announcer describes the action in a team sport with which he is unfamiliar.
(D) A chef purposely excludes the special ingredient from the recipe of his prizewinning dessert.
(E) A politician fails to mention in a campaign speech the similarities in the positions held by her opponent for political office and by herself.
3. According to the passage, collecting life stories can be a useful methodology because
(A) life stories provide deeper insights into a culture than the hypothesizing of academics who are not members of that culture
(B) life stories can be collected easily and they are not subject to invalid interpretations
(C) ethnologists have a limited number of research methods from which to choose
(D) life stories make it easy to distinguish between the important and unimportant features of a culture
(E) the collection of life stories does not require a culturally knowledgeable investigator
4. Information in the passage suggests that which of the following may be a possible way to eliminate bias in the editing of life stories?
(A) Basing all inferences made about the culture on an ethnological theory
(B) Eliminating all of the emotion-laden information reported by the informant
(C) Translating the informant’s words into the researcher’s language
(D) Reducing the number of questions and carefully specifying the content of the questions that the investigator can ask the informant
(E) Reporting all of the information that the informant provides regardless of the investigator’s personal opinion about its intrinsic value
5. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
(A) question an explanation
(B) correct a misconception
(C) critique a methodology
(D) discredit an idea
(E) clarify an ambiguity
6. It can be inferred from the passage that a characteristic of the ethnological research on Native Americans conducted during the nineteenth century was the use of which of the following?
(A) Investigators familiar with the culture under study
(B) A language other than the informant’s for recording life stories
(C) Life stories as the ethnologist’s primary source of information
(D) Complete transcriptions of informants’ descriptions of tribal beliefs
(E) Stringent guidelines for the preservation of cultural data
7. The passage mentions which of the following as a factor that can affect the accuracy of ethnologists’ transcriptions of life stories?
(A) The informants’ social standing within the culture
(B) The inclusiveness of the theory that provided the basis for the research
(C) The length of time the researchers spent in the culture under study
(D) The number of life stories collected by the researchers
(E) The verifiability of the information provided by the research informants
8. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the usefulness of life stories as a source of ethnographic information?
(A) They can be a source of information about how people in a culture view the world.
(B) They are most useful as a source of linguistic information.
(C) They require editing and interpretation before they can be useful.
(D) They are most useful as a source of information about ancestry.
(E) They provide incidental information rather than significant insights into a way of life.

Please discuss Q 2 , 6 and 8

For ques 8 ans would be A
reason- see the lst few lines
Despite all of this, autobiography remains a useful
tool for ethnological research: such personal reminis-
(40) cences and impressions, incomplete as they may be, are
likely to throw more light on the working of the mind
and emotions than any amount of speculation from an
ethnologist or ethnological theorist from another
culture.
Thus , the author believes that autobiographies give how an impression is formed in one's mind, based on his cultural beliefs.

option A) They can be a source of information about how people in a culture view the world.
is nothing but impression of a person (how he views the world)

for question (2) option would be C (is it correct ?)
for question (6) option would be C(is it correct ?)
Reason - 2)
The ethnologist acc. to his own perception determines (by comparing it with his culture )what are the imp. points about the life story
(which may fail to drive home the point intended by the informant as he may believe other inf. to be more imp.)

Same is the case with a sports announcer(suppose he is a cricket buff and commenting on tennis); he will judge the more imp. points of the game
by comparing it with cricket (which may lead to disaster!!!)



6)
option A) incorrect -- they were conducting studies earlier also, so mute point (mentioned)
option B) incorrect -- mute point again, they were using their language earlier (what will be the use of study if they use incomprehendable lang??)
option D) incorr. -- they were editing it.
option E) incorr. -- every research(or study) has stringent guidelines to preserve data

this leaves option (C)(it is clearly mentioned that it was a marked shift from theoretical research in the passage)
pls post the OA for all the ques(1-8)

Same passage with extra questions: LINK

QUESTION 38, PAG 35, VERBAL REVIEW OFFICIAL GUIDE 2ND ED

38 It can be inferred from the passage that a characteristic of the ethnological research on Native Americans conducted during the nineteenth century was the use of which of the following?

(A) Investigators familiar with the culture under study
(B) A language other than the informant’s for recording life stories
(C) Life stories as the ethnologist’s primary source of information
(D) Complete transcriptions of informants’ descriptions of tribal beliefs
(E) Stringent guidelines for the preservation of cultural data

I chose A, i do no see why it can be wrong, and I do not finish to understand why B is the answer. I am confused since the passage mentions that during the 19th century there was an interested in linguistics, so I think researches could be interested in the different languages in different cultures, so I do not understand that "A language other than the informant's for recording life stories" is the correct answer.

Focus on the highlighted portions of the text. The text starts out with what ethnologists started doing in 19th century. In arguments against the methods used, it talks about interviewers not spending enough time and hence probably not being properly familiar with the culture. So (A) is not correct. We cannot say that the research used investigators familiar with the culture under study.
Also, English was used to record the life stories of informants (which is different from informant's language) as is evident from the last highlighted portion. So (B) is correct.

Can someone explain why B is preferred over C for Q6 -

6. It can be inferred from the passage that a characteristic of the ethnological research on Native Americans conducted during the nineteenth century was the use of which of the following?

(A) Investigators familiar with the culture under study
(B) A language other than the informant???s for recording life stories
(C) Life stories as the ethnologist???s primary source of information
(D) Complete transcriptions of informants??? descriptions of tribal beliefs
(E) Stringent guidelines for the preservation of cultural data

Refer to the following portion:


The ethnologists wanted to use the personal stories to supplement their own field observations. We cannot accurately infer that the ethnologists wanted to use life stories as their primary source of information. Thus, (C) can be eliminated.


As for choice (B), we are told that "Native Americans recognized that the essence of their lives could not be communicated in English." This implies that English must have been used to record at least some of the Native Americans' life stories. We can infer that English was not the language of the Native Americans (the informants), so choice (B) is the best answer.

The problem with D is that it describes the intentional omission of one element with the purpose to conceal. The chef doesn't want everyone to be able to perfectly recreate his prizewinning dessert, so he withholds a key piece of information. In the passage, however, editors are choosing what they feel is important. They are not trying to hide the key facts. On the contrary, they think they are sharing all the most valuable information! However, since these stories are not their own, or even from their own culture, their choices can introduce problematic distortions.

Now, imagine C. I'm trying to tell you about the progress of a cricket match, but as an American, I'm not clear on all the rules and objectives. Even if I try my best to report accurately, I may leave out some important details in order to focus on distractions that turn out not to matter much. That sounds a lot like our hapless ethnologists.

Can anyone please tell me the meaning of the question? What does it ask for? And how does C make sense?
I had no idea about this one

Hi all,

Could anyone can help me and other user answer this question? I don't understand the question and why B is the correct answer?

In the 19th century, there was a rising interest in Native American customs and cultures. This interest prompted ethnologists, scientists studying the Native Americans, to begin recording personal life stories of Native Americans. These stories would supposedly supplement other field research pertaining to Native Americans.

In other words, the scientists had already observed the Native Americans ("field observations" are just observations made in a natural environment/setting/habitat) prior to this rise in interest. We can infer that these observations were largely impersonal... imagine the scientists just having a look around and observing how the Native Americans lived. But in the 19th century, the scientists wanted to SUPPLEMENT these impersonal observations with life stories of the Native Americans. Surely such personal stories would add to the scientists' understanding of the Native Americans and their way of life.

As for question 6, we are looking for a characteristic of that 19th century research. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about that research (i.e. the recording of life stories of Native Americans)?


The investigators were actually criticized for NOT being very in-touch with the cultures under study: "investigators rarely spent enough time with the tribes they were observing". The investigators may have been trying to record personal stories, but they were not necessarily familiar with the Native American cultures while they did so. Eliminate (A).


We are told that "Native Americans recognized that the essence of their lives could not be communicated in English." This implies that English must have been used to record at least some, if not most, of the Native Americans' life stories. We can infer that English was not the language of the Native Americans (the informants), so choice (B) looks good.


Refer to the following portion: "[ethnologists] were after linguistic or anthropological data that would supplement their own field observations, and they believed that the personal stories, even of a single individual, could increase their understanding of the cultures that they had been observing from without."

The ethnologists wanted to use the personal stories to supplement their own field observations. We cannot accurately infer that the ethnologists wanted to use life stories as their primary source of information. Thus, (C) can be eliminated.


There is nothing in the passage indicating that the ethnologists had COMPLETE transcriptions. In fact, we are told that as the stories were recorded, "much was inevitably lost". Thus, (D) can be eliminated.


The passage does not mention anything about stringent (strict) guidelines for the recording of the stories or for preservation of cultural data in general. Eliminate (E).

Choice (B) is the best answer.

Hi Verbal Experts,
daagh GMATNinja chetan2u

Please throw light on the "primary purpose" question.

The author at last concludes that autobiographies still remain a useful tool for research. Then how main idea is to "critique a methodology" ?

Is the primary purpose question different from author's viewpoint/purpose?

The purpose of the author may be different from the primary purpose of the passage. In this case, the author is merely a proponent of the use of autobiographies as a tool of anthropological study, while people like Radin and Boas were the opponents. The issue of the debate was the efficacy of using autobiographies for some purpose.

The purpose of the passage is to review why the autobiographies are useful vs. why they are not. The author is just giving his views from outside the ring as one more participant. Eventually, therefore, the author's purpose need not be the passage's purpose.

Hello,

I am no expert, but here are my 2 cents.
Firstly, know that 'critiquing' is not same as 'criticizing'
Dictionary meaning: evaluate (a theory or practice) in a detailed and analytical way i.e. to present the merits and demerits of the theory.

So, here the author introduces the practice in the beginning of the passage - using autobiographies to know more about life stories of N.A people.
Then the author presents the disadvantages followed by his opinion (advantage) of the practice.
Essentially, the author is indeed evaluating or 'critiquing' a methodology.
Hope that answers your question.

P1 - want to know about a culture, trying to find out ways to do that.
P2 - 2 theory, against, methods used to explore.
P3 - More criticize.
P4 - points on why this method is good.

1. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(D) The use of a research method is described and the limitations of the results obtained are discussed.
-----------------------------------------------

2. Which of the following is most similar to the actions of nineteenth-century ethnologists in their editing of the life stories of Native Americans?

We need to look for an answer choice, that some one(ethnologists) is describing for but based on life of someone else.

(A) A witness in a jury trial invokes the Fifth Amendment in order to avoid relating personally incriminating evidence. - self
(B) A stockbroker refuses to divulge the source of her information on the possible future increase in a stock’s value. - self,
(C) A sports announcer describes the action in a team sport with which he is unfamiliar. --- others's
(D) A chef purposely excludes the special ingredient from the recipe of his prizewinning dessert. - self.
(E) A politician fails to mention in a campaign speech the similarities in the positions held by her opponent for political office and by herself. - self.

----------------------------------------------

3. According to the passage, collecting life stories can be a useful methodology because

such personal reminiscences and impressions, incomplete as they may be, are likely to throw more light on the working of the mind and emotions than any amount of speculation from an ethnologist or ethnological theorist from another culture.

(A) life stories provide deeper insights into a culture than the hypothesizing of academics who are not members of that culture

-----------------------------------------------

4. Information in the passage suggests that which of the following may be a possible way to eliminate bias in the editing of life stories?

(E) Reporting all of the information that the informant provides regardless of the investigator’s personal opinion about its intrinsic value

------------------------------------------------

5. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
(C) critique a methodology

----------------------------------------------
6. It can be inferred from the passage that a characteristic of the ethnological research on Native Americans conducted during the nineteenth century was the use of which of the following?

Native Americans recognized that the essence of their lives could not be communicated in English

(B) A language other than the informant’s for recording life stories

---------------------------------------------
7. The passage mentions which of the following as a factor that can affect the accuracy of ethnologists’ transcriptions of life stories?

In addition many ethnologists at the turn of the century believed that Native American manners and customs were rapidly disappearing, and that it was important to preserve for posterity as much information as could be adequately recorded before the cultures disappeared forever.

investigators rarely spent enough time with the tribes they were observing, and inevitably derived results too tinged by the investigator’s own emotional tone to be reliable.

(C) The length of time the researchers spent in the culture under study

-----------------------------------------------
8. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the usefulness of life stories as a source of ethnographic information?

Last para. Only A is closest on the lines of insight of mind.

(A) They can be a source of information about how people in a culture view the world.

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma

2. Which of the following is most similar to the actions of nineteenth-century ethnologists in their editing of the life stories of Native Americans?

I am unable to understand how (C) is the correct answer choice.

The question talks about the "editing of the life stories" so shouldn't we look at the 3rd para "Editors often decided what elements were significant to the field research on a given tribe. "

Thus, we can infer that the editors decided what elements to use and what to discard

thus (D) A chef purposely excludes the special ingredient from the recipe of his prizewinning dessert.