Attitudes of academic and clinical researchers toward financial ties in research: A systematic review

Involvement of industry in academic research is widespread and associated with favorable outcomes for industry. The objective of this study was to review empirical data on the attitudes of researchers toward industry involvement and financial ties in research. A review of the literature for quantitative data from surveys on the attitudes of researchers to financial ties in research, reported in English, resulted in the 17 studies included. Review of these studies 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. This project was supported by grant number 5 T32 HS00086 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, US Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Glaser, Ph.D., Postgraduate Researcher, is currently Associate Specialist, Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley.