Nelson Is a Very Respected Sociologist, but His Latest Work

Multiple Choice

Nelson is a very respected sociologist, but his latest work is a disgrace. He relied on previous work done by other colleagues, an unreliable method of gathering research data. The work those colleagues completed has never been peer-reviewed, so it is clearly without merit. Therefore Nelson's new work is clearly lacking in academic merit.
The reasoning above is flawed because it

A) Presumes, without providing justification, that popular opinion is an appropriate metric for judging a work.
B) Presumes, without providing justification, that because research is not peer-reviewed it is unreliable.
C) Bases a general conclusion from a single observation.
D) Uses reputation instead of substance to judge research.
E) Uses substance to judge a work while ignoring reputation.