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Dozens of academics are reviewing their research on behavioural science conducted alongside Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino after the university requested the withdrawal of at least three of her papers.
The comments confirm spiralling concerns over the integrity of work by Gino, an expert on dishonesty, which were questioned in an analysis by the blog Data Colada last month. The academics behind the blog suggested that underlying data in studies behind the research papers had been manipulated.
The allegations, initially reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education, have triggered concerns among nearly 150 co-authors who have worked with her on papers over more than a decade.
They have also prompted a wider debate about the implications for other scholars in behavioural science and the role of universities and journals in policing academic integrity.
The journal Psychological Science last week published retractions following what it described as a recommendation from the Research Integrity Office of Harvard Business School, after “an independent forensic firm engaged by the HBS revealed discrepancies between the published data” and the original data, text for both retractions said.
The two articles, from 2014 and 2015, are “Evil Genius? How Dishonesty Can Lead to Greater Creativity” and “The Moral Virtue of Authenticity: How Inauthenticity Produces Feelings of Immorality and Impurity”.
Data Colada also queried a third paper published in 2020 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Why Connect? Moral Consequences of Networking with a Promotion or Prevention Focus.”
The American Psychological Association, which publishes the journal, said it was “aware of the concerns raised by this article. A retraction is scheduled to be published in the September issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
“At this time, we believe this to be an isolated incident. However, we continue to be in touch with the institution and if we have reason to consider retracting other articles, we will take appropriate steps.” It said Harvard had requested the retraction.
A fourth paper queried by Data Colada had already been retracted.
Data Colada said it had first contacted HBS in autumn 2021 to raise its concerns. Harvard has refused to comment on the investigation, but the two retractions provide independent confirmation of its probe.
The two statements also contain the first substantive response by lawyers for Gino, who has refused repeated requests to comment. Her HBS profile was recently altered to indicate that she is on administrative leave.
The retractions state: “Counsel for the first author informed the journal that whereas Dr. Gino viewed the retraction as necessary, she disagreed with references to original data, stating that ‘there is no original data available’ pertaining to the research reported in the article.”
Harvard Business School and Gino did not respond to additional requests for comment.
Many of Gino’s co-authors have joined an informal network called the Many Co-authors Project to identify if there are other cases of allegedly manipulated data, according to the digital magazine Behavioral Scientist.
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