Fraudulent Data Raise Questions on Duke Researcher

The revelations of fraudulent data in a key paper have raised questions about Dan Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, Science reported.

"None of the five study authors disputes that fabrication occurred, but Ariely’s colleagues have washed their hands of responsibility for it," the article reported. "Ariely acknowledges that only he had handled the earliest known version of the data file, which contained the fabrications. Ariely emphatically denies making up the data."

The data were collected by an insurance company, Ariely said, but he no longer has records of interactions with it that could reveal where things went wrong. “I wish I had a good story,” Ariely told Science. “And I just don’t.”