Honesty researcher engaged in scientific misconduct and manipulated data, Harvard probe finds

A university behavioral scientist researching why people lie and cheat “engaged in multiple instances of scientific misconduct,” according to a Harvard University report viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Francesca Gino, a Harvard behavioral scientist, filed a $25 million lawsuit against Harvard and a group of scientists who first made allegations in 2021 that she committed data fraud, according to The Wall Street Journal. The 1,300-page investigation released by Harvard recommended she be fired from her position and retract several of her papers.

“The Investigation Committee believes that the severity of the research misconduct that Professor Gino has committed calls for appropriately severe institutional action,” reads the investigation report, according to the WSJ.

Harvard started looking at Gino’s work in late 2021 after receiving a tip about potential issues with the research from a group of behavioral scientists hailing from the Data Colada blog, according to the WSJ. They examined four studies written in part by Gino and alleged she had corrupted data results.

A preliminary inquiry was opened and two Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty examined her data files and computer records, as well as her documented responses to the accusations, according to the WSJ. They recommended a full investigation into Gino, which HBS Dean Skrikant Datar agreed with.

The investigation, conducted between 2022 and 2023, ultimately concluded that Gino “engaged in multiple instances of research misconduct” and altered data sets to make the results fit hypotheses, according to the WSJ. Gino claimed that the questionable results found in the probe were the result of human error, but investigators rejected that claim as it failed to explain “major anomalies and discrepancies.”

Gino further claimed that it was also possible that someone else had maliciously tampered with her results, but the investigators acknowledged “that the theory of a malicious actor might be remotely possible” but ultimately rejected this claim because they “did not find it plausible,” according to the WSJ.

The investigators sent the results to Dakar in March 2023, recommending that Gino be put on unpaid leave while her termination was completed, perform an audit of Gino’s other work, and request retractions from some of her papers, according to the WSJ. Harvard placed Gino on leave in June 2023 and the Data Colada blog scientists subsequently published criticisms of her work.

Gino filed a $25 million lawsuit against Harvard and the Data Colada bloggers in August 2023, according to the WSJ. Her lawyers argued that the investigation found no substantial proof of corruption.

The bloggers have already raised $400,000 for legal fees, according to the WSJ. Harvard and the bloggers will attend a hearing on Apr. 26 to dismiss the lawsuit.

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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