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Answer choices

1. A

   Correct67% picked this

   In general scientific research is not referred to in journals until the

   Why this is right

   This is exactly the missing piece that makes the argument work. If research isn't cited until it's completed, then multiyear projects produce zero citations during their many years of work — exactly the citation penalty that would push citation-maximizers toward short-term, faddish projects (which finish quickly and start generating citations). This confirms the argument's implicit incentive structure.

   Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   67%
2. B

   No Impact7% picked this

   Areas of science that are faddish at some point are not necessarily

   Whether faddish areas are sometimes significant doesn't change the argument's claim that multiyear projects get avoided in favor of short-term faddish ones. The argument is about the kind of work scientists choose, not the quality of faddish areas in absolute terms. Even if some faddish areas are valuable, the trend the author is criticizing — short-term over long-term — is still happening.

   7%
3. C

   No Impact4% picked this

   Research that is initially criticized in scientific journals sometimes turns out to

   This is about research that's initially criticized but turns out to be ground-breaking. The argument is about whether citation analysis encourages or discourages good research by changing what researchers choose to work on. Whether some criticized work later becomes important doesn't affect the incentive structure the author identifies. Tangential.

   4%
4. D

   No Impact14% picked this

   Scientists are sometimes hostile to interim assessments of ongoing research, since such assessments might threaten

   Whether scientists resist interim assessments doesn't address whether citation analysis distorts research priorities. The argument is about citation counts as a metric for research quality and how that distorts incentives. Scientists' attitudes about interim assessments are tangential.

   14%
5. E

   No Impact8% picked this

   Scientists often cite their colleagues’ work when they think it is unfairly neglected by

   This says scientists sometimes cite colleagues' neglected work. That doesn't tell us anything about whether citation analysis pushes researchers toward short-term faddish projects. If anything, it slightly cuts against the argument by suggesting citation patterns aren't purely market-driven, but it doesn't do much either way.

   8%