A prominent Harvard behavioral scientist who undertook studies about honesty is under fire for allegedly fabricating papers that she worked on, according to a report.
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.
The paper claimed that people who fill out tax forms or insurance documents are more honest if they attest to the truth of their responses at the top of the page instead of the bottom, the Times reported.
Source: The New York Post