A large portion of government research grants go to academics, who presumably – are supposed to collaborate with colleagues for the benefit of mankind. Yet in daily practice, the ideal of collaboration is often breached, even when taxpayers fund the research, salaries of the researchers and/or the facilities in which it is conducted.
To analyse the degree to which academic scientists withhold data, a research team analysed a sample of 1,240 self-identified geneticists and made a comparison with 600 self-identified non-geneticists involved in medical research.
Among geneticists who said they had intentionally withheld data regarding their published work, most (80 percent) reported that it required too much effort to produce the materials or information. In addition, almost two-thirds (64 percent) reported that they were protecting the ability of a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow or junior faculty member to publish in the future. And slightly over half (53 percent) reported that they were protecting their own ability to publish research in the future.
Researchers say the free and open sharing of information, data and materials regarding published research is vital to the replication of published results, the efficient advancement of science and the education of students.
Source: Eric G. Campbell, et al., “Data Withholding in Academic Genetics,” Journal of the American Medical Association, January 23/30, 2002.
For text http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n4/abs/joc11433.html
For more on Drug Research & Development
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/health/hedex7d.html
FMF Policy Bulletin\12 February 2002
