LSAT 115 – Section 2 – Question 15

LSAT 115 - Section 2 - Question 15

December 2002

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT115 S2 Q15
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
A
75%
164
B
4%
153
C
4%
156
D
12%
156
E
5%
157
142
151
160
 +Medium 148.811 +SubsectionMedium

More and more academic institutions are using citation analysis as the main technique for measuring the quality of scientific research. This technique involves a yearly scanning of scientific journals to count the number of references to a researcher’s work. Although academic institutions want to encourage good research, use of citation analysis actually works against this goal since scientists seeking to maximize citation counts will avoid multiyear projects in favor of short-term projects in faddish areas.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that citation analysis will not encourage good academic work. This is because citation analysis works in a way where scientist will receive more citations by taking on short-term projects in fad areas rather than long-term projects.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that long-term projects more often constitute “good work” than short-term projects in fad areas. The author also assumes the latter leads to more citations than the former without providing any evidence to substantiate the claim.

A
In general scientific research is not referred to in journals until the research is completed.
Long-term, multi-year research won’t be cited until it’s completed. Thus, a scientist hoping for high citations per year likely won’t want to pursue such research.
B
Areas of science that are faddish at some point are not necessarily lacking in significance.
This undermines the author’s argument. Short-term, faddish work isn’t “good work” according to the author.
C
Research that is initially criticized in scientific journals sometimes turns out to be ground-breaking work.
We have no idea what will be criticized. The author doesn’t care about how research is received.
D
Scientists are sometimes hostile to interim assessments of ongoing research, since such assessments might threaten continuity of funding.
The author never mentions nor implies anything to do with interim assessments.
E
Scientists often cite their colleagues’ work when they think it is unfairly neglected by the scientific establishment.
Irrelevant. We have no idea what constitutes the “scientific establishment.”

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LSAT PrepTest 115 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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