Neither Insko nor Suls knew specifically what errors were present in Ruggiero’s research.

Insko said that Ruggiero’s retraction of data is highly troubling.

“Trust is a fundamental value in the research process,” Insko said. “This [retraction] threatens the integrity of the whole publishing process.”

Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) does have written procedures in place to investigate allegations of misconduct in research. These procedures call for the Faculty’s Standing Committee on Professional Conduct to investigate all creditable charges of misconduct.

These same policies apply to all research done at Harvard, even if the researcher is no longer affiliated with the University, according to FAS spokesperson Sally Baker.

However, Baker refused to either confirm or deny that a University investigation is currently ongoing concerning Ruggiero or her researchg. She said that all proceedings of the Committee on Professional Conduct are confidential, just like those of the Administrative Board which disciplines students.

Several former graduate students for whom Ruggiero served as an advisor while she was a professor at Harvard refused to comment on the situation this week.