What to do about fraud charges in science; or, will the Burt affair ever end?

Shortly after the death, in 1971, of Cyril Burt, a prominent British psychologist, the authenticity of his accounts of intelligence test results from the largest report sample of MZA's (monozygotic twins reared apart) was challenged. Charges of fraud by Burt's critics and countercharges by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetica 1997, Vol.99 (2-3), p.145-151
Main Author: Samelson, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breast Neoplasms - history
Breast Neoplasms - surgery
Burt
Data Interpretation, Statistical
England
Female
History of medicine
History, 20th Century
Humans
Intelligence - genetics
Psychology - history
Public Opinion
Scientific Misconduct - history
Scientific Misconduct - trends
Twins, Monozygotic - genetics
Twins, Monozygotic - psychology
United States
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Summary:Shortly after the death, in 1971, of Cyril Burt, a prominent British psychologist, the authenticity of his accounts of intelligence test results from the largest report sample of MZA's (monozygotic twins reared apart) was challenged. Charges of fraud by Burt's critics and countercharges by his supporters started an acrimonious battle of words in journals, books, and the mass media that seesawed over the decades. It is still not resolved. The problematic ways in which the scientific community and its major organizations and journal editors have dealt or failed to deal with the problem are discussed.
ISSN:0016-6707
1573-6857
DOI:10.1007/BF02259518