Fabrication & Falsification - IAH 206

definition - FALSIFICATION

changing EXISTING data in order to suit preferences

FALSIFICATION - WAKEFIELD

• altering of the childrens

  • medical conditions

  • timing of the vaccine

  • BOTH

• FALSIFICATION was CRUCIAL for making it appear that there was a correlation between the vaccine and autism

FALSIFICATION - KUMAR

• biologist at CalTech

  • used pre-existing lines and duplicated them into his image blot (image manipulation)

    • defense —> said that he had never prepared a paper before + didn’t know that it was wrong

      • This defense was REJECTED (Kumar was an advanced researcher)

definition - FABRICATION

completely MAKING UP data

FABRICATION - URBAN

• sent data + paper in for peer review (with phony data!!!)

  • When it came to light, he claimed he planned to obtain the real data and substitute it before publishing

    • said that time + career pressure led him to do it

FABRICATION - NINOV

• Altered the data analysis in order to produce fabricated results

  • actively denied the allegations and findings

FABRICATION - SCHON

• claimed that he (and 2 co-authors) had successfully fabricated a single-molecule transistor

  • the data was “too perfect”

FABRICATION VS. FALSIFICATION

fabrication —> blatantly making up data

falsification —> altering existing data in order to fit preferences / hypothesis

self-deception

• scientists genuinely believe that they are doing science properly

• Scientists believe in their results and that they accurately reflect what has happened in the study 

• Similar tools for detection, dissimilar outcomes for scientists 

SELF-DECEPTION - Raoult

• French Microbiologist who claimed he had the “cure” for COVID-19 \

• egotistical/egocentric way of self-deception (genuinely thought he was right because he does no wrong)

SELF-DECEPTION - Blondot

• French Physicist who believed he found a new type of ray (N-Rays)

• genuinely thought he found a new type of rays

differences between Fraud (fabrication / falsification) and self-deception

Fraud —> intent to deceive

Self-deception —> genuinely thought they had discovered something new