Weaken Question

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Weaken Question

by shekhar.kataria » Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:11 am
The soaring prices of scholarly and scientific journals have forced academic libraries
used only by academic researchers to drastically reduce their list of subscriptions.
Some have suggested that in each academic discipline subscription decisions should
be determined solely by a journal's usefulness in that discipline, measured by the
frequency with which it is cited in published writings by researchers in the
discipline.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the suggestion
described above?


(A) The non-academic readership of a scholarly or scientific journal can be
accurately gauged by the number of times articles appearing in it are cited in
daily newspapers and popular magazines.
(B) The average length of a journal article in some sciences, such as physics, i s less
than half the average length of a journal article in some other academic
disciplines, such as history.
(C) The increasingly expensive scholarly journals are less and less likely to be
available to the general public from non-academic public libraries.
(D) Researchers often will not cite a journal article that has influenced their work if
they think that the journal in which it appears is not highly regarded by the
leading researchers in the mainstream of the discipline
(E) In some academic disciplines, controversies which begin in the pages of one
journal spill over into articles in other journals that are widely read by
researchers in the discipline.


Confusion between D and E. CA-----------> D

Please provide explaination why the other is wrong.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by shovan85 » Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:32 am
Weaken the suggestion.

Premises:
Soaring price so reduce the list of subscription.
How to reduce the list? Discipline wise the usefulness of Journal be determined. (Suggestion)
How to determine the usefulness of a Journal? Frequency with which the Journal's usefulness is cited in published writings by researcher in that discipline.

Now Options:

(A) Non-academic: Out of discussion
(B) Length of Journal is none of our concern but the content cited by some researcher.
(C) Yes let it be who cares ;)
(D) Researchers often will not cite a journal article that has influenced their work if they think that the journal in which it appears is not highly regarded by the leading researchers in the mainstream of the discipline.
So though the journal is USEFUL it is not cited so the chances are that the useful journal will not be listed in the list of subscription.
Really weakens :)
(E) Controversies starts from one journal. Goes to other journal. Means spreads from one journal to other (Widely read). Whatever be the controversy but it is being read by researchers not cited by them. Worst scenario the researchers will not cite the journal's . Thus will not be enlisted in the library. So it does not weaken .
If the problem is Easy Respect it, if the problem is tough Attack it