Conflicts of interest

It is standard in all types of research to disclose any specific ‘conflicts of interest’ – factors that could make the researcher biased towards particular results. This is common in research projects where money is involved. Would the researcher (or the company funding the researcher) benefit from the results of the research coming out in a particular direction?

Here are some examples of potential conflicts of interest:

• A pharmaceutical company funding a clinical trial for its own drug may create a conflict of interest, if the company stands to benefit financially from positive results.
• A researcher receiving funding from an oil company to study the environmental impacts of drilling may face conflicts of interest, if they are under pressure to downplay negative findings.
• Researchers studying the effectiveness of educational interventions funded by the companies producing those interventions may have conflicts of interest if their findings recommend using the products of those companies.

  

While it is common to disclose conflicts of interest, there are many fields where it isn’t common to consider how our experiences, perspectives, values, and biases might affect our research in a way that is less clear-cut.