Brian Wansink Wansink Academic Misconduct. Psychology Essay

Wansink Academic Misconduct
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Wansink Academic Misconduct
Before 20th September 2018, Brian Wansink, Food and Brand Lab’s head, Cornell University, was the most respected and renowned food researcher in the United States of America (USA). In reality, Wansink’s studies had significantly influenced the lives of many Americans. His articles were cited over 20,000 times by scholars (Resnick & Belluz, 2018). Wansink focused on researches showing how the environment shapes individuals’ eating behaviors. For example, one of his studies entitled “bottomless bowls” depicted that people eat a large portion of meals when the food bowls are big. However, the superb reputation of Wansink was tarnished when Cornell University reported that the scientist was involved in academic misconduct, fraud, and data inconsistencies in his studies. For this reason, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) retracted six of his articles in one day. The paper focuses on how the Wansink case might have been prevented, and the reason why one believes so.
The Cornell University should not allow any scientist, regardless of the individual’s reputation or expertise, to publish articles without presenting the data used and analyzing it to identify whether the results are similar to what is in the publications (Hamblin, 2018). In particular, the institutions of higher education should retain academic integrity by using various strategies to review articles before they are published. If Cornell University asked Wansink to give the data he used in all his researchers, the person would not have manipulated the information to suit his purpose. However, it appears that the university believed in the scientist and bothered less to do a follow up on his academic ethics.
The other way that the Wansink case should have been prevented is through the collaboration between Cornell University and JAMA. Specifically, these two institutions did not even communicate before Wansink’s case of academic dishonesty. Apart from t...