While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:When medical students mention their patients on social media, they...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- When medical students mention their patients on social media, they may violate patient confidentiality.
- Terry Kind led a study to determine how many medical schools have student policies that mention social media use.
- Kind and her team reviewed 132 medical school websites, examining publicly available student policies.
- Only thirteen medical schools had guidelines that explicitly mention social media, and only five defined what constitutes acceptable social media use.
The student wants to emphasize the study's methodology. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
The student policies of 132 medical schools can be found online, according to research by Terry Kind.
To find out how many medical schools have guidelines about student social media use, Terry Kind and her team examined the student policies of 132 medical schools.
Out of 132 medical schools, only thirteen had student policies that mentioned social media, and only five specified what use was acceptable.
Terry Kind and her team wanted to know how many medical schools have student social media policies in place about protecting patient confidentiality.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "When medical students mention their patients on social media, they may violate patient confidentiality." |
|
| "Terry Kind led a study to determine how many medical schools have student policies that mention social media use." |
|
| "Kind and her team reviewed 132 medical school websites, examining publicly available student policies." |
|
| "Only thirteen medical schools had guidelines that explicitly mention social media, and only five defined what constitutes acceptable social media use." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Terry Kind's research team studied 132 medical school websites to determine how many schools have social media policies, finding very few schools address this issue.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? Which choice best emphasizes the study's methodology using information from the notes.
What type of answer do we need? We need a choice that highlights HOW the research was conducted, not what they found or why they did it.
Any limiting keywords? "methodology" is the key limiting word—we're specifically looking for the research methods, not the purpose or results.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct answer should focus on the research process described in the notes—how Kind and her team actually conducted their study
- From our analysis, we know they reviewed 132 medical school websites and examined student policies
- The methodology is the "how" of their research approach
The student policies of 132 medical schools can be found online, according to research by Terry Kind.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses on the availability of policies online rather than how the study was conducted
To find out how many medical schools have guidelines about student social media use, Terry Kind and her team examined the student policies of 132 medical schools.
✓ Correct
- Directly describes how the study was conducted: "examined the student policies of 132 medical schools"
Out of 132 medical schools, only thirteen had student policies that mentioned social media, and only five specified what use was acceptable.
✗ Incorrect
- Presents the study's findings and results rather than the methodology
Terry Kind and her team wanted to know how many medical schools have student social media policies in place about protecting patient confidentiality.
✗ Incorrect
- Describes what the researchers wanted to know rather than how they found out