Another scientist caught faking data

[Palinurus]

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/10/tilburg_professor_faked_data_i.php

http://io9.com/5855733/psychologist-admits-to-faking-dozens-of-scientific-studies

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/health/research/noted-dutch-psychologist-stapel-accused-of-research-fraud.html?_r=2&hp

A committee of fellow scientist found out that social psychology professor Diederik Stapel (Tilburg University, The Netherlands) faked research data in at least 30 scientific articles published in peer reviewed journals.

And those are only preliminary findings.

The fraud is ‘considerable and shocking’, the committee set up to look into Diederik Stapel’s academic publications said in an initial report into the scandal on Monday.

Stapel, who was a professor of social and behavioural sciences at Tilburg, was suspended last month after doubts emerged about research that concluded eating meat makes people anti-social and selfish.

An example of his studies is referenced and reviewed here - now provided with a disclaimer on top:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/04/07/disordered-environments-promote-stereotypes-and-discrimination/

"This is absolutely horrifying," said Laura King, a social psychologist at the University of Missouri in Columbia. "We are talking about research that has major impact in the field of social cognition."

"Our field is one where a great deal of currency is placed on surprising you," says University of Connecticut psychologist Hart Blanton, who expects to have to retract two papers written in co-authorship with Stapel. In an interview with New Scientist, Blanton said that he was concerned about how the field may foster a dynamic that encourages researchers to progress from ""counter-intuitive, to cute, to provocative, to 'defies gravity'".

**EDIT** added NYTimes link

 

[SeekinTruth]

An article was already carried on SOTT about this (in Best of the Web):

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/237110-Psychopaths-in-Academia-Report-finds-massive-research-fraud-at-Dutch-universities

 

[mkrnhr]

The title on Nature news fed is misleading. It is about one researcher in one dutch university, not in dutch universitites in general.

Off subject:
I was reading a few editorials of this journal yesterday and they are really really bad, dogmatic and sometimes idiotic.

For instance, the last release is a special issue on autism. You can read this: Title: "Autism's fight for facts: A voice for science"
looks good so far
Then: "Convinced by the evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, Alison Singer started a research foundation that pledges to put science first." (investigating after a conviction??)
The format of the text makes it look like a magazine, not a journal.

Then you have perfect pieces of propaganda like : _http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111102/full/news.2011.627.html ("Smoking stokes cocaine cravings") with comments such as "Smoking now may make you more susceptible to cocaine addiction later.".

This is without the very partial stence of this magazine towards the global warming thing.

 

[Palinurus]

I apologise for not checking on today's SotT first before posting. This was a leftover from yesterday late evening that I didn't have the time to complete and post then. Just finished it today without further enquiry. Sorry about that.

 

[SeekinTruth]

The fraud is ‘considerable and shocking’, the committee set up to look into Diederik Stapel’s academic publications said in an initial report into the scandal on Monday.

Stapel, who was a professor of social and behavioural sciences at Tilburg, was suspended last month after doubts emerged about research that concluded eating meat makes people anti-social and selfish.

This was not included in the SOTT article. Eating meat makes people anti-social and selfish, huh? Why am I not surprised that this massive research fraud had to have this particular aspect included. The members on the paleo diet on this forum, including the entire Chateau family and all the Mods and Amins, are definite proof that it's quite the opposite! Observe the level of pro-social and unselfish interactions and behaviors here and come to your own conclusions.