This story is another that you can file in the ‘you cannot make this up’ file. A Harvard researcher who studies honesty has been accused of fabricating studies. And it’s not just one, but a few which has sent reverberations throughout the academic community.
This isn’t some random researcher, either. Francesca Gino’s work has been cited in multiple other research projects and has amassed multiple accolades, including being among the 40 Business Professors under 40. This latest revelation now has Gino’s colleagues scrambling, reviewing past research papers they had worked on with her (via NY Post):
Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino allegedly chalked up phony results tied to studies, including one focused on honest behavior, the New York Times reported.
She’s been placed on leave, according to her business school web page, which the Times reported showed she was still on the job as recently as mid-May.
She has published 135 articles since 2007, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education.
In a blog, called DataColada, run by three behavioral scientists, it alleged fraud in four academic papers that Gino co-authored.
They said they presented evidence of fraud to Harvard in the fall of 2021 tied to a 2012 paper and another three papers she was a part of.
The 2012 paper relied on three separate studies, including one that Gino spearheaded.
[…]
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School behavior scientist Maurice Schweitzer told the Times he was reviewing eight papers he worked with Gino on.
He noted others were doing the same.
The accusations lodged against Gino were leading to major “reverberations in the academic community” because Gino has “so many collaborators, so many articles, who is really a leading scholar in the field,” he told the Times.
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I wonder what repercussions, if any, will be handed down to Lyin’ Gino.
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