#10 - Double-blind techniques should be used whenever

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Question #10: Main Point. The correct answer choice is (B)

This is not a challenging argument to deconstruct, as there are no premise or conclusion indicators to help you out. You really need to think about which claims play a supportive role, and which claims are being supported. The conclusion can be found in the first sentence: the author recommends the use of double-blind techniques. Why? Because the rest of the stimulus supports this position, first by making an observation about the benefits of double-blind techniques, and second by presenting a principle that should govern the scientific process. In a nutshell, the argument is structured as follows:

• Premise (1): Double-blind techniques help prevent the misinterpretations
  Premise (2): Scientists should avoid such misinterpretations
  
  Conclusion: Double-blind techniques should be used whenever possible.

Our goal, then, is to find an answer choice restating the conclusion of the argument as closely as possible.

Answer choice (A) is attractive, but incorrect. While it states a true claim, this is the reason for adopting double-blind techniques. In other words, it is a premise for the author's conclusion.

Answer choice (B) is the correct answer choice, as it represents a paraphrase of the recommendation that forms the author's conclusion.

Answer choice (C) is incorrect, as it cannot be proven by reference to the information contained in the stimulus. Even if this is a reasonable inference, it clearly does not reflect the conclusion of the argument.

Answer choice (D) is attractive, because it is worded as a principle ("should") that bears a close relationship to the conclusion. Furthermore, this principle is stated at the very end of the stimulus, which is where many test-takers expect to find the conclusion. If you fell for it, remember: the arguments in Main Point questions are structurally more complex than usual, and their conclusions are rarely found where you expect them to be. In this particular instance, the principle at the end of the stimulus plays a supporting role: scientists should adopt double-blind techniques precisely because they ought to avoid such misinterpretations.

Answer choice (E) restates a reason for adopting the double-blind techniques, and as such plays a supporting role. Remember: the conclusion is the author's recommendation that such techniques be adopted, not the reason for their adoption.

[BoomBoom]

Hello,

I answered A on this question, but I was wondering if someone could explain how B is the Correct answer?

Thanks,

Chris

[Nikki Siclunov]

Chris,

Thanks for your question. Generally speaking, we need a bit more input from you before we delve into a discussion of a particular LR question. Ultimately, it won't be us who are taking the test; it's you! Our goal is to help you understand what's going on, which is why you first need to do the following:

• 1. Describe your approach to the stimulus. Did you understand the argument, if any, from a structural standpoint? What is the conclusion, and what evidence is the author using in support of that conclusion?
  
  2. Did you prephrase an answer to the question in the stem? If so, what was your prephrase?
  
  3. What exactly made the two answer choices you have listed particularly attractive? Did you use any question type-specific test (e.g. Assumption Negation Technique) to differentiate between them?

Thanks,

[BoomBoom]

Hello, Nikki! I believe you were filling in for someone in the second chair in my first online class I took this past January, and you were super helpful so I'm glad to see you on here!

1. I thought I understood this stimulus well and originally I set it up in my mind when reading it the first time as,

P:They help prevent the misinterpretations that often arise due to
expectations and opinions that scientists already hold.
P:and clearly scientists should be extremely diligent in
trying to avoid such misinterpretations
C:Double Blind techniques should be used whenever possible in scientific experiments.

2. Prephase: Because of scientists prior expectations and opinions and biases double blind experiments should be used whenever possible.

3. So at first glance of the answers I left A and E as my only 2 contenders. Answer A because it sounded similar to my prephase, and E because of the fact that the conclusion mentions double blind techniques specifically and sums up the rest of my prephase. Since this was my first prep test and my diagnostic test I used the online proctor to make sure I only spent 35 mins per section, and since I was stressed about time, I ended up picking A over E because it seemed to sum up the whole stimulus, but now that I am writing this I can see that it didn't sum up the conclusion...

Anyways, if you could point out where I went wrong in the process, or how to go from my prephrase to the correct answer, or how to properly attack this question that'd be great, thanks!

[Mmjd12]

Debated between (B) and (E) for a bit as I couldn't find any obvious reason to eliminate one in favor of the other. then I chose (E) because the word "proportion" in (B) at least implied that a small subset of experiments maybe didn't need to be double blind to ensure objectivity. For that reason I thought (E) is more directly getting at the authors conclusion. Where did I go wrong with this one?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Mmjd12!

The conclusion of this stimulus is the first sentence: "Double-blind techniques should be used whenever possible in scientific experiments." You can tell that this is the conclusion because the other sentences are offered in support of it. Why should they be used whenever possible? Because they help prevent misinterpretations, and because scientists should seek to avoid misinterpretations.

We therefore want an answer choice that mimics the first sentence as much as possible. Answer choice (E) is close, but one problem is that it just says double-blind techniques are "often" effective, in contrast to the conclusion that indicates they should be used whenever possible. In addition, there's no real mention in the stimulus of what "scientific objectivity" means. That term is unique to answer choice (E).

By contrast, answer choice (B) is much closer to mimicking the first sentence. "It is advisable" in answer choice (B) functions as the word "should" in the stimulus, and "in as high a proportion of their experiments as they can" in (B) functions the same as "whenever possible" in the stimulus. In short, both are saying that double-blind techniques should be used in scientific experiments as much as possible.

[Mmjd12]

That's very clear, thanks so much Luke