Question 87·Hard·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
In recent years, an increasing number of scientific journals have required authors to include a data-access statement specifying where the raw data supporting a study’s conclusions can be found. The policy is designed to ensure transparency and reproducibility: when datasets are permanently archived in recognized repositories and clearly cited in the paper, other researchers can locate, inspect, and reuse the information with minimal effort.
Text 2
Scholars attempting to replicate landmark social-science experiments from the 1970s and 1980s often encounter an obstacle: the original datasets have been lost, are stored in obsolete formats, or were never formally archived at all. Without access to the underlying data, these scholars must rely on incomplete descriptions in the published articles, a situation that frequently leads to inconclusive or contested replication efforts.
Based on the texts, which choice best describes how the author of Text 1 would most likely respond to the challenge described in Text 2?
For cross-text questions, quickly paraphrase each text’s main claim or purpose, then identify the relationship between them (agreement, disagreement, problem–solution, or refinement). Next, predict how the specified author would respond before looking at the choices. Finally, eliminate options that shift focus to a minor detail, reverse the author’s tone, or introduce a new claim not supported by the relevant text.
Hints
Clarify each text’s main point
In your own words, summarize what Text 1 is mainly describing and what problem Text 2 is mainly describing. Keep each summary to one sentence.
Look for a problem–solution relationship
Ask yourself: Does one text describe a problem while the other describes a policy or practice that could reduce that problem? If so, how would the author of Text 1 likely connect their policy to the issue in Text 2?
Check tone and attitude in Text 1
Is the author of Text 1 positive, negative, or neutral about the journal policy? Eliminate any choices that suggest the author would speak about the policy in a way that conflicts with this tone.
Match specifics, not just general ideas
Focus on the specific issue in Text 2 (what exactly is blocking replication?) and see which choice directly connects that specific issue to what Text 1 discusses.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the problem in Text 2
First, restate what is going wrong in Text 2. Scholars trying to replicate older social-science experiments cannot reliably do so because the original datasets are missing, unusable, or were never archived. As a result, replication attempts are often inconclusive or contested. So the central problem in Text 2 is the lack of preserved, accessible data.
Identify the main idea and solution in Text 1
Now, summarize Text 1. It describes a journal policy requiring authors to include a data-access statement and to archive raw data in recognized repositories. The purpose is transparency and reproducibility, so other researchers can locate, inspect, and reuse the data with minimal effort.
Connect Text 1’s policy to Text 2’s challenge
Compare the two texts:
- Text 2: Replicators struggle because old data are lost, obsolete, or never archived.
- Text 1: A policy that requires archiving data and specifying where to find them.
So the policy in Text 1 is designed to prevent exactly the kind of replication barrier described in Text 2.
Test each answer choice against both texts
Evaluate the options:
- The choice claiming methods sections can usually replace the original datasets conflicts with Text 1’s emphasis on sharing raw data and with Text 2’s point that relying on article descriptions often leads to inconclusive replication.
- The choice focusing primarily on standardized file formats addresses only one possible obstacle mentioned in Text 2 and downplays Text 1’s central emphasis on repository archiving and clear citation.
- The choice arguing journals should avoid requiring data sharing contradicts Text 1’s positive presentation of requirements as promoting transparency and reproducibility.
Therefore, the best answer is: By emphasizing that the journal policy described in Text 1 directly addresses the lack of preserved data cited in Text 2.