Episode 61: Conflict of interest

We want scientists to be paragons of objectivity. At the very least, we want them to tell us who’s paying their bills. But it turns out that in some fields of research, the norms about reporting financial conflicts of interest are all over the place. Scientists making big money from after-dinner speeches about their research often don’t think it’s at all relevant to disclose.

In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look at the evidence on how funding affects the outcomes of scientific research—and discuss whether scientists need to be a lot more transparent about where their money comes from.

Show notes

* 2017 meta-analysis of the impact of funding source (for-profit vs. non-profit) on medical randomised trials

* Tom’s Nature article on undisclosed financial conflicts in psychology research

* New Angela Duckworth paper with no COI statement

* Unconvincing ethics article on COI disclosures and public trust

* Scientist declares his membership of the Scottish Socialist Party in an article about Margaret Thatcher

* Ioannidis article on conflicts of interest in nutrition research

Credits

The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe