Who funded the study?

< Back to search results

• Format Websites
• Language/s English
• Target Audience Self-directed learning
• EBM Stage 3 - Appraising evidence
• Duration <5 mins
• Difficulty Introductory

Key Concepts addressed

• 1-3a Beware of conflicting interests

Details

Vested interests can distort research in different ways, from directly setting up research questions that are biased towards a particular outcome, to selecting only certain results for publication, to the more subtle influences on what conclusions to emphasise.

So it is reasonable to ‘follow the money’ and know who’s funded the research that you’re looking at. In scientific journals academics should always disclose their ‘interests’.

Read more