Researching Honesty: Can you trust the data? Part 1

A famous Harvard researcher. A blockbuster finding about honesty. Suspicious data, failed replications, and a $25 million lawsuit. Welcome to one of the strangest research misconduct scandals in recent memory. In the first of two episodes about the Francesca Gino case, we investigate a famous experiment claiming that signing an honesty pledge at the top of a form makes people less likely to cheat. We follow the trail from a failed replication to some extraordinary detective work involving an Excel spreadsheet—and conduct a little statistical sleuthing of our own. Along the way, we discover how suspicious changes to a handful of observations can alter the story a scientific study tells. Statistical topics Statistical sleuthing Data integrity Data management Replication Sensitivity analysis Effect sizes Statistical significance Reproducibility Spreadsheets Conceptual replication Direct replication CalcChain Methodologic Morals “There's cleaning your data, and then there's laundering your data.”  “Good data record keeping is still sexy. Version control, baby.” References References Published research Shu LL, Mazar N, Gino F, Ariely D, Bazerman MH. Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(38):15197-15200. Retracted. doi:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1209746109 Kristal AS, Whillans AV, Bazerman MH, Gino F, Shu LL, Mazar N, Ariely D. Signing at the beginning versus at the end does not decrease dishonesty. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117(13):7103-7107. doi:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911695117 Retraction for Shu et al., Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(38):e2115397118. doi:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115397118 Data Colada investigations Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Evidence of fraud in an influential field experiment about dishonesty. Data Colada. August 17, 2021. https://datacolada.org/98 Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Data falsificada (part 1): “Clusterfake.” Data Colada. June 17, 2023. https://datacolada.org/109 Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Data falsificada (part 2): “My class year is Harvard.” Data Colada. June 20, 2023. https://datacolada.org/110 Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Data falsificada (part 3): “The cheaters are out of order.” Data Colada. June 23, 2023. https://datacolada.org/111 Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Data falsificada (part 4): “Forgetting the words.” Data Colada. June 30, 2023. https://datacolada.org/112 Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Exhibits 3, 4, and 5. Data Colada. September 16, 2023. https://datacolada.org/114 Simmons JP. Harvard's Gino report reveals how a dataset was altered. Data Colada. July 9, 2024. https://datacolada.org/118 Additional resources Lessig L. The Gino Case. Website and podcast series presenting arguments challenging Harvard's research misconduct findings. https://theginocase.info/ Gino v Harvard University. CourtListener. Federal court docket and publicly available filings. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67659904/gino-v-harvard-university/ Simonsohn U, Simmons JP, Nelson LD. Data Falsificada. ResearchBox. Research data, analysis code, and supporting materials accompanying the Data Colada investigations. https://researchbox.org/1630.34 Kristal AS, et al. Research materials and data accompanying Signing at the beginning versus at the end does not decrease dishonesty. Open Science Framework. https://osf.io/4b7mu/overview Correction for Kristal et al., Signing at the beginning versus at the end does not decrease dishonesty. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026;123(27):e2610441123. doi:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2610441123 Harvard Business School. Investigative report concerning allegations of research misconduct involving Francesca Gino. Harvard Business School Research Integrity Investigation Report. 2023. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://datacolada.org/wp-content/uploads/Harvard-Report-on-Gino.pdf Kristin and Regina’s online courses:  Demystifying Data: A Modern Approach to Statistical Understanding   Clinical Trials: Design, Strategy, and Analysis  Medical Statistics Certificate Program   Writing in the Sciences  Epidemiology and Clinical Research Graduate Certificate Program  Program that Kristin teaches in:: Epidemiology and Clinical Research Graduate Certificate Program  Kristin’s manuscript writing course: https://instats.org/seminar/from-data-to-discussion-writing-a-scient Find us on: Kristin -  LinkedIn & Twitter/X Regina - LinkedIn & ReginaNuzzo.com (00:00) - Cold Open: Two Frauds in a Paper About Honesty (02:41) - The Claim: Spreadsheets Are the Villain (05:43) - The 2012 Honesty Pledge Study (09:17) - Signing at the Top Wins (13:31) - Failed Replications: Five Conceptual Tries, Then...