Saturday, November 26, 2011
"Dutch 'Lord of the Data' Forged Dozens of Studies (UPDATE)"
I doubt this "scientist" is alone in his behavior.
Now, I ask, how much credence should we give to results of "studies" that imply we should do, or not do, a certain thing?
I think my skepticism gene just got a big boost...
Now, I ask, how much credence should we give to results of "studies" that imply we should do, or not do, a certain thing?
I think my skepticism gene just got a big boost...
Gretchen Vogel posts this and the rest of the story at ScienceMag.com:
"Diederik Stapel was suspended from his position at Tilburg University in the Netherlands in September after three junior researchers reported that they suspected scientific misconduct in his work. Soon after being confronted with the accusations, Stapel reportedly told university officials that some of his papers contained falsified data. The university launched an investigation, as did the University of Groningen and the University of Amsterdam, where Stapel had worked previously. The Tilburg commission today released an interim report (in Dutch), which includes preliminary results from all three investigations. The investigators found 'several dozens of publications' in which fictitious data has been used. Fourteen of the 21 Ph.D. theses Stapel supervised are also tainted, the committee concluded.
Stapel issued a statement today in which he apologizes to his colleagues and says he 'failed as a scientist' and is ashamed of his actions. He has cooperated to an extent by identifying papers with suspect data, according to university officials. The investigation by the three universities is ongoing and should ultimately investigate more than 150 papers that Stapel has co-authored"
