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Lazy Snobs and Conflict of Interest

Jan 30, 2010

In the New York Times, John Tierney writes that having a corporate connection does not necessarily bias a researcher’s work and adds that “the growing obsession with following the money too often leads to nothing but cheap ad hominem attacks.” Tierney says there are two reasons why journalists and ethics boards first look at funding when evaluating someone’s work: “laziness” and “snobbery.” He adds:

Instead of stigmatizing certain kinds of research grants, perhaps we should consider the bigger picture. If scientists listed all their public and private donors on their Web pages, journalists could simply link to that page and let readers decide which ones are potentially corrupting. Instead of following rigid rules to report “conflicts,” journalists could use their judgment and report only the ones that seem relevant.
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