LSAT 135 – Section 1 – Question 20

LSAT 135 - Section 1 - Question 20

December 2011

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT135 S1 Q20
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Math +Math
A
1%
157
B
10%
158
C
21%
163
D
51%
167
E
17%
162
153
164
175
 +Hardest 146.098 +SubsectionMedium

Journalist: Newspapers generally report on only those scientific studies whose findings sound dramatic. Furthermore, newspaper stories about small observational studies, which are somewhat unreliable, are more frequent than newspaper stories about large randomized trials, which generate stronger scientific evidence. Therefore, a small observational study must be more likely to have dramatic findings than a large randomized trial.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The number of news stories about small observational studies is larger than the number of news stories about large randomized trials. The author hypothesizes that the reason for this phenomenon is that small observational studies are more likely to have dramatic findings than a large randomized trial. This is based on the fact that newspaper stories tend to report only on studies with dramatic-sounding stories.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author overlooks alternate explanations for the greater number of stories about small studies. For example, one possibility is that there are simply a greater number of small observational studies than large randomized trials. This is how the overall rate of dramatic findings might be the same between small and large, but we still end up with a greater number of news stories about small studies than large studies.

A
It casts doubt on the reliability of a study by questioning the motives of those reporting it.
The author does not comment on the motives of anyone. Although the author does mention that observational studies are “somewhat unreliable,” he does not suggest that they are unreliable because of the motives of people of people conducting the study or reporting on it.
B
It fails to consider that even if a study’s findings sound dramatic, the scientific evidence for those findings may be strong.
The author’s not concerned with proving whether certain kinds of studies are reliable. So the quality of the evidence is irrelevant. The issue is whether small studies are more likely to have dramatic findings than large ones.
C
It confuses a claim about scientific studies whose findings sound dramatic with a similar claim about small observational studies.
The first sentence claims that newspapers report only on studies with dramatic-sounding results. The second sentence claim stories about small studies are more frequent. These aren’t “similar” claims, but even if they are, the author does not mix up these two claims.
D
It overlooks the possibility that small observational studies are far more common than large randomized trials.
If the small studies are more common than the large ones, that provides an alternate explanation for why there are more news stories about small studies. The greater number of stories doesn’t have to be due to small studies’ having a higher rate of dramatic findings.
E
It fails to rule out the possibility that a study’s having findings that sound dramatic is an effect rather than a cause of the study’s being reported on.
The first line says newspapers tend to report only on studies whose findings sound dramatic. Thus, (E)’s possibility isn’t true. Some studies’ findings sound dramatic. When newspapers choose what to write about, they choose the studies whose findings sound dramatic.

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LSAT PrepTest 135 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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