#19 - Like a number of other articles, Ian Raghnall's

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Method of Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (B)

Answer choice (A): The author does not offer a counterexample to the statistical data drawn. It merely states an alternative interpretation of the data.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The author suggests that since couples often express other types of marital frustrations in financial terms, the survey do not establish that financial problems are the major problem in marriages. The data could merely be the expression of other types of marital problems.

Answer choice (C): Raghnall’s article does not try to prove the presence of any emotion, nor does the author show that one cannot prove such presence.

Answer choice (D): The author does not criticize the survey that was used, but rather the interpretation of the survey data and result.

Answer choice (E): The author does not dispute the accuracy with each couples can describe their own problems.

[ylikate]

I am not convinced on why choice B is best even after reading the explanation. The stimulus states that couples of mischaracterizing their issues by labeling them as financial problems. This is what (E) states, isn't it? Because couples inaccurately describe their problems and therefore inflating the statistics?

Thanks in advance. Kate

[David Boyle]

I am not convinced on why choice B is best even after reading the explanation. The stimulus states that couples of mischaracterizing their issues by labeling them as financial problems. This is what (E) states, isn't it? Because couples inaccurately describe their problems and therefore inflating the statistics?

Thanks in advance. Kate

Hello,

E says, "undermines a conclusion by showing that couples cannot accurately describe their own problems". That is a little strong. Maybe they do accurately describe them a lot, but just when it comes to money, there are some problems.
B, "undermines a conclusion drawn from statistical data by offering an alternative explanation for some of the data", is a little more moderate, and chimes with the stimulus saying that couples often state other problems in financial terms.

Hope that helps,
David

[EsquireGirl]

Hi there,

This question is about financial problems being the major problems in marriages. I don't understand how B is the answer. I really do not understand the sentence "Yet couples often express other types of marital frustrations in financial terms." The conjunction 'yet' implies that the following statement will contradict the previous statement, which it does not.

By not understanding that construction, I was not able to get the answer.

Please explain how that sentence makes sense in the context of this problem and how it leads to the answer.

Thanks,

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for asking, EsquireGirl! You're definitely on to something with your analysis of "yet" - it does imply that what follows may contradict what came before, but it can also indicate that what follows will only raise some doubts about what came before, without directly contradicting it.

In this case, the claim that follows "yet" raises doubts about the conclusions drawn by the Raghnall from the data in the survey, because it suggests that "other" problems (besides "financial problems") may have been expressed in financial terms in the survey responses. Our author thinks that Raghnall may be interpreting some of those responses incorrectly, believing that because they were put in financial terms they must indicate financial problems, when in fact they could be indicating something else. For example, "my partner isn't earning as much money as he could" might sound like a financial problem, but it might actually be about feeling taken advantage of or of being unfairly burdened.

Looked at in that light of "raising some doubts", answer B should look a lot better than it did the first time around. The author raised doubts about Raghnall's conclusion by suggesting that at least some of the data upon which he relied may have meant something other than what Raghnall interpreted it to mean.

Let us know if that clarifies the issue for you!

[andriana.caban]

If the author had undermined the conclusion drawn by criticizing the survey for which the data was gathered - what would that look like?

Please provide an example of answer choice (D), thanks!

[James Finch]

Hi Andriana,

It would be much more direct and explicit criticism, something along the lines of "but this survey is flawed because X," or at the very least point out a flaw in the survey's methodology and let us infer that its conclusions would be flawed as well. Here we don't have that, only an argument that the survey's results may not be as telling as some say they are, because couples may not be accurately describing their problems. This is a problem with drawing inferences from the data, not the data itself.

Hope this helps!

[andriana.caban]

So, perhaps if the author had stated that Ian's survey was collected with only ten people as a sample. Therefore, the survey data does not establish that financial problems are the major problem because it's sample size was too small.

Would that be a good example of answer choice (D), thanks?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Andriana,

That is spot on. For answer choice (D), you are looking for a specific criticism of the survey. Something that discusses sample size, sample selection, question bias, or other issues related to sampling would all work for answer choice (D).

Hope that helps!
Rachael