Chapter 168
Dean Larson turned to Sarah with a stern expression. “What do you have to say?”
Sarah walked toward Grace, facing everyone with conviction. “Plenty! First of all, I have a few questions for Professor Harrison.”
“Go ahead!” Grace snapped.
“How did you choose your research direction?”
Grace responded quickly, “Obviously, I reviewed numerous international papers and conference reports before finding my direction.”
“Wrong,” Sarah said with a slight smile.
“How dare you say I’m wrong! I can show you those reports!”
Instead of looking at Grace, Sarah connected her laptop to the projector and displayed her email correspondence with Jane, showing discussions about research direction from a month ago.
“Actually, any research materials you could find would be outdated. While the general direction might be similar, there are significant differences. My direction came from information shared by my mentor, Jane, after the Paris symposium, which I used with her permission.”
Grace visibly panicked. “That… that doesn’t prove this paper is yours! I developed it independently.”
Professor Wells’s expression softened slightly as he sat up straighter.
Sarah continued, “Second question, what’s your data source?”
She had only included most references in the paper, not every step, nor all supporting documents in the appendix.
Grace persisted, “I got it through friends at various psychology institutes.”
She connected her own laptop, displaying chat log
with her friends.
Sarah opened the paper’s appendix and pointed to an entry, “Who is this amazing friend who could access Ausubel Institute data?”
Anyone in psychology knew Ausubel’s reputation and how impossible it was to access their data.
They published some data annually, but nothing related to this research.
Veterans like Professor Wells knew how difficult this was. Sarah only had access through Jane, sharing data while collaborating on reports, and had gotten permission to use it.
She displayed the email records – the real evidence
Grace still wouldn’t give
- up.
“That doesn’t prove I couldn’t get Ausubel’s data!”
+15 Bonus
Sarah replied calmly, “Pine, let’s say you found the data. Third question, leaving aside the comparative relationships, the paper uses expert scoring methodology. A proper expert scoring system requires at least a hundred experts in the field, and your model
is extensive. How many experts did you consult? Can you show us your scoring system?”
By now, everyone had noticed the discrepancies in the first two questions. Professor Wells had even started recording on his
phone.
Grace nervously opened her emails, revealing only a few messages and scores from barely dozens of experts. (1)
She angrily slammed her laptop shut. “I lost some data, but that doesn’t prove I didn’t do the work. My paper was legally
published. You can’t slander me!”
