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25 May 2023, 07:30
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Question 1
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
75%
(hard)
Question Stats:
43% (03:04) correct
57%
(03:05) wrong
based on 227
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Question 2
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
73% (01:02) correct 27%
(01:32) wrong
based on 217
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The increasing number of published scientific studies ultimately shown to have been based on erroneous data threatens not only reputations of individual scholars but also perceptions of the field as a whole. Since the general public often interprets such debunkings as evidence of malicious or conspiratorial intentions on the part of researchers, these incidents risk being construed as evidence that fraudulent practices pervade the discipline. Such conclusions are rendered all the more potent by the rousing prospect of exposing hypocrisy in a field that prides itself on its rigor. It would therefore behoove interested parties to go to lengths to demonstrate that such episodes, while incidentally regrettable, are not necessarily signs of malfeasance, and are in fact fully consistent with a healthy science. Indeed, the very practices of hypothesis testing and scientific replication are in place precisely to redress such concerns. Spurious results may linger briefly in the communal ethos, but the more attention they garner for their ingenuity and impact, the more likely they are to be subjected to the crucible of attempted replication. Just as in a thriving garden, small weeds may crop up from time to time only to get pulled out at signs of trouble, so too in science do specious findings occasionally attempt to infiltrate the canon only to get uprooted and tossed aside in the end by the inexorable process of scientific natural selection.
1. The author of the passage would most likely defend which of the following scenarios as instances of “healthy science”?
I. A young researcher discovers an important error in an established text and makes careful note of it in her personal logbook.
II. A highly influential scholar publishes a controversial finding in a well-regarded journal only to be shown by follow-up studies to have inadvertently relied on an
invalid statistical method.
III. Unbeknownst to his collaborators, a scientist tweaks his data to be more consistent with a theory that has already won much empirical support.
A. I Only
B. II Only
C. III Only
D. I and II Only
E. II and III Only
I. A young researcher discovers an important error in an established text and makes careful note of it in her personal logbook.
II. A highly influential scholar publishes a controversial finding in a well-regarded journal only to be shown by follow-up studies to have inadvertently relied on an
invalid statistical method.
III. Unbeknownst to his collaborators, a scientist tweaks his data to be more consistent with a theory that has already won much empirical support.
A. I Only
B. II Only
C. III Only
D. I and II Only
E. II and III Only
2. Which of the following best describes the overall purpose of the passage?
(A) To develop a scientific hypothesis and then describe evidence refuting it
(B) To argue that a problem that many people believe to be endemic to a specific domain is in fact much more widespread
(C) To encourage more robust dialogue between scientific experts and laypeople
(D) To highlight a possible interpretation of a phenomenon and then point out how that interpretation is mistaken
(E) To build support for a position and then contend that that position is fundamentally flawed.
(A) To develop a scientific hypothesis and then describe evidence refuting it
(B) To argue that a problem that many people believe to be endemic to a specific domain is in fact much more widespread
(C) To encourage more robust dialogue between scientific experts and laypeople
(D) To highlight a possible interpretation of a phenomenon and then point out how that interpretation is mistaken
(E) To build support for a position and then contend that that position is fundamentally flawed.
Manhattan GRE 5lb.
08 Dec 2023, 11:15
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Summary
The passage discusses the problem of scientific studies with errors, which can harm individual reputations and the field's image. It notes public perceptions of malice, emphasizing the need to show such incidents don't imply wrongdoing but are part of a healthy scientific process. The importance of hypothesis testing and replication is highlighted, using a metaphor of weeding out specious findings in a thriving garden through scientific natural selection.
The passage discusses the problem of scientific studies with errors, which can harm individual reputations and the field's image. It notes public perceptions of malice, emphasizing the need to show such incidents don't imply wrongdoing but are part of a healthy scientific process. The importance of hypothesis testing and replication is highlighted, using a metaphor of weeding out specious findings in a thriving garden through scientific natural selection.
Official Explanation
1. The author of the passage would most likely defend which of the following scenarios as instances of “healthy science”?
Difficulty Level: Very Hard
Explanation
The author of the passage argues that erroneous findings will be eventually corrected via the process of “scientific natural selection,” or being subjected to scrutiny. “The very practices of hypothesis testing and scientific replication are in place precisely to redress such concerns,” the author writes.
The first statement is incorrect, since there is no such scrutiny—no one else will read the researcher’s logbook.
The third statement is incorrect because the scientist tweaks his data deliberately—this is more like the “fraudulent practices” described earlier in the passage than the “healthy science” described later—and because no scrutiny takes place.
Answer: B
Difficulty Level: Very Hard
Explanation
The author of the passage argues that erroneous findings will be eventually corrected via the process of “scientific natural selection,” or being subjected to scrutiny. “The very practices of hypothesis testing and scientific replication are in place precisely to redress such concerns,” the author writes.
The first statement is incorrect, since there is no such scrutiny—no one else will read the researcher’s logbook.
The third statement is incorrect because the scientist tweaks his data deliberately—this is more like the “fraudulent practices” described earlier in the passage than the “healthy science” described later—and because no scrutiny takes place.
Answer: B
08 Dec 2023, 11:17
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Official Explanation
2. Which of the following best describes the overall purpose of the passage?
The passage points out that the discovery of erroneous findings could be seen as malfeasance by researchers, then goes on to show how these same findings are actually a healthy and natural part of the scientific process.
Choice (A) isn’t correct because the author does not develop a scientific hypothesis.
Choice (B) is incorrect because the author shows that the purported problem isn’t actually a problem at all.
Choice (C) is tempting but the author is not actually trying to promote dialogue. The author does build a certain position but never tries to tear that position down, as choice (E) states.
Answer: D
The passage points out that the discovery of erroneous findings could be seen as malfeasance by researchers, then goes on to show how these same findings are actually a healthy and natural part of the scientific process.
Choice (A) isn’t correct because the author does not develop a scientific hypothesis.
Choice (B) is incorrect because the author shows that the purported problem isn’t actually a problem at all.
Choice (C) is tempting but the author is not actually trying to promote dialogue. The author does build a certain position but never tries to tear that position down, as choice (E) states.
Answer: D
