Harvard Professor Who Studies 'Honesty' For A Living Accused Of Fraud And Falsifying Results

Francesca Gino, a renowned Harvard Business School (HBS) professor known for her research on honesty and behavioral science, finds herself at the center of a scandal as allegations of data fraud have emerged against her.

In recent weeks, serious accusations have surfaced, suggesting that Gino falsified results in multiple behavioral science studies and raising concerns about the integrity of her research.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, in a report published on June 16, highlighted the claims made by Max Bazerman, an HBS professor, and co-author of a paper published alongside Gino in 2012.

Bazerman revealed that Harvard University had informed him about suspicions regarding the validity of results in one of the studies overseen by Gino.

The allegations against Gino have sent shockwaves through the academic community, given the ironic nature of her research focus on honesty and ethical behavior.

The accusations cast doubt on the credibility of her work and raise questions about the rigor of the scientific process within the field of behavioral science.

Harvard University has not released an official statement regarding the allegations against Gino. However, the institution is expected to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the veracity of the claims and their potential impact on the affected studies.

The retracted paper focuses on findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It centers around an experiment asking participants to complete tax and insurance paperwork.

"Many written forms required by businesses and governments rely on honest reporting. Proof of honest intent is typically provided through a signature at the end of, e.g., tax returns or insurance policy forms. Still, people sometimes cheat to advance their financial interests at great cost to society. We test an easy-to-implement method to discourage dishonesty: signing at the beginning rather than at the end of a self-report, thereby reversing the order of the current practice," the paper's abstract read.

The study asserted that participants who signed truthfulness declarations at the top of the page displayed more excellent honesty than those who signed them at the bottom.

According to Max Bazerman's report in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Harvard University shared a 14-page document that contained "compelling evidence" of data falsification. The evidence included the revelation that an individual accessed a database and made additions and alterations to the data file.

He firmly denied involvement in the alleged data manipulation, telling the Chronicle, "I did not have anything to do with the fabrication."

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Following this, three behavioral science academics who run the blog DataColada published several posts offering ample proof of fraud in four academic papers that Gino co-authored.

The blog's authors highlighted their discovery of fraudulent practices spanning over a decade, including recently published papers from 2020.

They expressed their concerns to Harvard Business School in the fall of 2021, presenting a report detailing the most substantial evidence of fraud in four studies. The scholars believe that many more papers authored by Gino may contain fabricated data, possibly dozens.

The scholars acknowledged that Harvard had access to more information, including the original data collected through Qualtrics survey software.

They noted that if the fraud involved altering downloaded data files while collecting accurate data on Qualtrics, the original Qualtrics files would serve as solid evidence. Conversely, if their concerns were unfounded, the Qualtrics files would provide proof of their misguided concerns.

The scholars clarified that, to their knowledge, none of Gino's co-authors were involved in or assisted with data collection for the studies in question. Gino's HBS profile indicates that she is currently on administrative leave.

A man who identified himself as Gino's husband declined to comment when the New York Times contacted him, citing the situation's sensitivity.

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