Jack Grove (2023). ‘This might tank my career’: Pruitt accuser on whistleblowing. Times Higher Education. Accessed on 15th June 2023 – link
What would you do if you realised that some of your published co-authored papers have inconsistent data, most likely due to data fabrication or falsification? Would you report it? Would you be afraid of the potential consequences to your career? Would you be afraid of someone else detecting the wrongdoing?
These dilemmas crossed the mind of Kate Laskowski when she faced a difficult choice to report serious data fabrication identified in three papers she co-authored.
When she wrote about the problem on her blog, she was far from imagining the level of interest from the scientific community in the suspicious papers that praised her integrity and courage to speak up against the severe wrongdoing made by one of her co-authors.
Three years after reporting the case, her claims were paid off with the retraction of those papers. Additionally, a substantial number of papers from the co-author who fabricated the data were either retracted or the journals issued an expression of concern. Moreover, a university made the results of the investigation public, concluding that the co-author had “engaged in fabrication and falsification when working on their three papers.”
Now, when she reflects on the case, the dilemma she felt on the consequences of reporting the case to her career and reputation, while the feeling of “making the right thing” is undeniable. On the other hand, Kate was less impressed by the attitude of some journals that were reluctant to withdraw the papers despite evidence of wrongdoing, as they feared potential legal actions.
The scientific community praised the careful investigation taken by the university as an example. Nevertheless, Katw argued there were arguably no other options to take: “Their investigation was very comprehensive – and probably very expensive – and I’m glad about this. But what other option did they have?” she said.
You are welcome to share your views about this case and engage in a discussion with others.