3 ms·

Do universities typically go to bat for their faculty? Presumably the blog investigation is not done with any direct university involvement.

smcin 2y ago
I can't comment, but it's a truly bizarre spectacle to see research integrity being upheld by three public-minded researchers (one of them based in Spain) and a defense fund on GoFundMe organized by an Australian academic. The academic publishers didn't fund them and neither did the funders of the research. We need a discussion about frameworks to fund misconduct researchers (including related legal defense), also about pressures to publish irreproducible results with mediagenic, counterfactual findings. The entity with the least incentive to fully investigate HBS is, paradoxically... HBS itself... because questions have been raised about multiple other coauthors, the reputational and financial consequences and wrongful termination claims look set to run for a decade. Some have conjectured that whenever the full facts are finally disclosed, this scandal will take out the reputation of Harvard in general (not just HBS, or Behavioral Economics as a field, or priming), or all the Ivies, at least for business-school.
dotnet00 2y ago
The universities might've deemed it to be an important enough PR situation and low risk enough to do it. Alternatively maybe they were obligated to back them up if the work was done in their official capacity as faculty?
- smcin 2y ago
  I think you mean the universities of the Data Colada researchers, not the researchers accused of misconduct. Sure, but if this were to become commonplace, you can see misconduct researchers becoming a target for big recurring legal defense bills, big enough to involve insurers, faculty funding, etc. Eventually we might a some landmark verdict like the Apple-vs-Samsung of misconduct/defamation trials.
rebanevapustus 2y ago
I was the victim of a pretty bizarre super in-your-face academic theft. Someone snooped a half-finished draft of mine off GitHub and...actually got it published in a real journal. https://forbetterscience.com/2023/10/30/stephensons-alternative-universes/ https://forbetterscience.com/2023/10/30/stephensons-alternat... My institution completely brushed it off as a no problem, and said that it wasn't worth pursuing it at all. It was very traumatising (and still is). I lost all faith in academia.

smcin 2y ago

I can't comment, but it's a truly bizarre spectacle to see research integrity being upheld by three public-minded researchers (one of them based in Spain) and a defense fund on GoFundMe organized by an Australian academic. The academic publishers didn't fund them and neither did the funders of the research. We need a discussion about frameworks to fund misconduct researchers (including related legal defense), also about pressures to publish irreproducible results with mediagenic, counterfactual findings. The entity with the least incentive to fully investigate HBS is, paradoxically... HBS itself... because questions have been raised about multiple other coauthors, the reputational and financial consequences and wrongful termination claims look set to run for a decade. Some have conjectured that whenever the full facts are finally disclosed, this scandal will take out the reputation of Harvard in general (not just HBS, or Behavioral Economics as a field, or priming), or all the Ivies, at least for business-school.

dotnet00 2y ago

The universities might've deemed it to be an important enough PR situation and low risk enough to do it. Alternatively maybe they were obligated to back them up if the work was done in their official capacity as faculty?

smcin 2y ago
I think you mean the universities of the Data Colada researchers, not the researchers accused of misconduct. Sure, but if this were to become commonplace, you can see misconduct researchers becoming a target for big recurring legal defense bills, big enough to involve insurers, faculty funding, etc. Eventually we might a some landmark verdict like the Apple-vs-Samsung of misconduct/defamation trials.

rebanevapustus 2y ago

I was the victim of a pretty bizarre super in-your-face academic theft. Someone snooped a half-finished draft of mine off GitHub and...actually got it published in a real journal. https://forbetterscience.com/2023/10/30/stephensons-alternative-universes/ https://forbetterscience.com/2023/10/30/stephensons-alternat... My institution completely brushed it off as a no problem, and said that it wasn't worth pursuing it at all. It was very traumatising (and still is). I lost all faith in academia.