Study on Same-Sex Marriage Views Retracted as Author Uncovers Co-Author's Faked Data
A study on how people can change their views on same-sex marriage after talking to gay individuals has been retracted after one of its authors divulged that the data used in the study were faked by his co-author.
The study titled "When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support of gay marriage" was published in the Science journal last December and authored by Columbia University political science professor Donald Green and Michael LaCour, a graduate assistant at U.C.L.A.
Green issued a retraction and apology to Science, according to the Retraction Watch site.
"I write to request a retraction of the above Science report. Last weekend, two U.C. Berkeley graduate students (David Broockman, and Josh Kalla) who had been working on a research project patterned after the studies reported in our article brought to my attention a series of irregularities that called into question the integrity of the data we present," Green said.
He said it was discovered that the "on-line survey data that Michael LaCour purported to collect could not be traced to any originating Qualtrics source files."
"He claimed that he deleted the source file accidentally, but a Qualtrics service representative who examined the account and spoke with U.C.L.A. Political Science Department Chair Jeffrey Lewis reported to him that she found no evidence of such a deletion," he added.
He said LaCour's failure to produce the raw data used in the study "undermines the credibility of the findings."
"I am deeply embarrassed by this turn of events and apologize to the editors, reviewers, and readers of Science," Green said.
He told Retraction Watch that his "failure to verify the original Qualtrics data was a serious mistake."
News sites that originally published stories about the findings posted Green's retraction.
Science editor in chief Marcia McNutt told Retraction Watch that Green was informed of the study's irregularities and he submitted a request for retraction "after his co-author, LaCour, admitted that some of the details of the data collection were falsely described in the published report."
"Given the fact that Dr. Green has requested retraction, Science will move swiftly and take any necessary action at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime, Science is publishing an Editorial Expression of Concern to alert our readers to the fact that serious questions have been raised about the validity of findings in this study," McNutt said.
