Attitudes of Academic and Clinical Researchers Toward Financial Ties in Research: A Systematic Review

This article summarizes the data from seventeen surveys looking at the attitudes of researchers to financial ties in research. The literature review revealed that investigators are concerned about the impact of financial ties on choice of research topic, research conduct and publication, but this concern is less among investigators already involved with industry. Researchers approve of industry collaboration and financial ties when the ties are indirectly related to the research, disclosure is upfront, and results and ideas are freely publicized. However, their trust in disclosure as a way to manage conflicts may reveal a lack of awareness of the actual impact of financial incentives on themselves and other researchers.