Critical Reasoning

The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely expected to result in a decline in television viewing, since it had been assumed that people lack sufficient free time to maintain current television-viewing levels while spending increasing amounts of free time on the computer. That assumption, however, is evidently false: in a recent mail survey concerning media use, a very large majority of respondents who report increasing time spent per week using computers report no charge in time spent watching television.

Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether a large majority of the survey respondents reported watching television regularly
B. Whether the amount of time spent watching television is declining among people who report that they rarely or never use computers
C. Whether the type of television programs a person watches tends to change as the amount of time spent per week using computers increases
D. Whether a large majority of the computer owners in the survey reported spending increasing amounts of time per week using computers
E. Whether the survey respondents’ reports of time spent using computers included time spent using computers at work

pakaskwa wrote:The growing popularity of computer-based activities was widely expected to result in a decline in television viewing, since it had been assumed that people lack sufficient free time to maintain current television-viewing levels while spending increasing amounts of free time on the computer. That assumption, however, is evidently false: in a recent mail survey concerning media use, a very large majority of respondents who report increasing time spent per week using computers report no charge in time spent watching television.

Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether a large majority of the survey respondents reported watching television regularly
B. Whether the amount of time spent watching television is declining among people who report that they rarely or never use computers
C. Whether the type of television programs a person watches tends to change as the amount of time spent per week using computers increases
D. Whether a large majority of the computer owners in the survey reported spending increasing amounts of time per week using computers
E. Whether the survey respondents’ reports of time spent using computers included time spent using computers at work

For me correct choice is A
It needs to be correctly identified what were the respondents' TV viewing habits prior to their increased usage of computers. It is possible that a majority of the respondents hardly watched any tv before and hence devoted all that free time towards computers, hence the large increase in their time spent on computers.

My answer is also A

In a survey question like this one, we need to determine the set of people and habits who have taken the survey. Whether or not computer effects TV watching depends on respondent's TV watching habits/time

It should be E. I have seen this question on another forum (dont have the link unfortunately). The reason cited was if the time people spend on cumputers at work is also included then that this cannot be called 'free time'.

The OA is E. And I don't think it's the right answer. (Source is not reliable btw).

I think the fundamental assumption of the survey is to survey people who at least watch tv. If they don't, then the whole survey is meaningless. Choice A is such an assumption. Choice E is one step away from that assumption: only when people at least watch tv does their time spent on computer at work matter.

Hope there's no such question in real GMAT.

For me A and E were the close contenders.....


Why i refuted A was bcos the survey concluded tht there is no change in the tv watching habits of the people who have increased their computer usage.

Thus even if people were watching TV regularly before the survey happened, the survey concluded tht their habit has remained the same. this does not give us an additional information to evaluate the argument.

Whereas if we have and additional information whether ppl surveyed considered the increased computer usage at work as their normal computer usage hours then we get and additional information the conclusion of the survey.

Hello pab,

Why i refuted A was bcos the survey concluded tht there is no change in the tv watching habits of the people who have increased their computer usage.

Thus even if people were watching TV regularly before the survey happened, the survey concluded tht their habit has remained the same. this does not give us an additional information to evaluate the argument.

What if the reason for "there is no change in the tv watching habits..." is that those people just don't watch tv? Then the whole survey is meaningless, is it? So I still think that if a survey on "tv vs computer habit" should be done to people who at least watch tv. (My thought might be wrong, but so far I'm not convinced by choice E...)

I also will go with A