Freakonomics Radio Can Academic Fraud Be Stopped? (Update)
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Jan 2, 2025 
Max Bazerman, a Harvard Business School professor, discusses the ethics of academia, spotlighting the systemic pressures that lead to misconduct. Brian Nosek from the University of Virginia talks about his efforts in promoting transparency through the Open Science Framework, revealing the reluctance in academia to share data. Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, exposes the challenges surrounding the integrity of publishing, especially after Hindawi's retraction of over 8,000 fraudulent papers. The episode sheds light on the pervasive issues of trust and accountability in research.
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Stapel's Fraud
- Diederik Stapel, a Dutch social psychology professor, admitted to fabricating data in many studies.
- He prioritized simple, "clickbait" findings over complex ideas, leading him down a path of fraud.
Success and Fraud
- Successful academics sometimes commit fraud, which is surprising.
- Stapel described his fraud as an addiction, while others, like Ariely and Gino, have written about moral behavior.
Retraction Rates
- Roughly 2% of papers likely warrant retraction due to fraud or mistakes.
- However, only about 0.1% of papers are actually retracted, suggesting significant underreporting.
