title: Perspective: Disclosing hidden sources of funding.
abstract: In this article, the author discusses ethical and policy issues related to the disclosure of hidden sources of funding in research. The author argues that authors have an ethical obligation to disclose hidden sources of funding and that journals should adopt policies to enforce this obligation. Journal policies should require disclosure of hidden sources of funding that authors know about and that have a direct relation to their research. To stimulate this discussion, the author describes a recent case: investigators who conducted a lung cancer screening study had received funding from a private foundation that was supported by a tobacco company, but they did not disclose this relationship to the journal. Investigators and journal editors must be prepared to deal with these issues in a manner that promotes honesty, transparency, fairness, and accountability in research. The development of well-defined, reasonable policies pertaining to hidden sources of funding can be a step in this direction.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA. resnikd@niehs.nih.gov
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Resnik
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics* / Q000941:ethics; D016265:Conflict of Interest / Q000191:economics*; D030881:Disclosure / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards*; D005582:Foundations / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards*; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000191:economics
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2008 Apr 24;358(17):1862
references.pmid: 18385492
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2008 Apr 24;358(17):1850-1
references.pmid: 18385491
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2002 Jun 13;346(24):1901-2
references.pmid: 12063375
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2006 Oct 26;355(17):1763-71
references.pmid: 17065637
references.citation: Sci Eng Ethics. 2007 Jun;13(2):147-57
references.pmid: 17717729
references.citation: JAMA. 2007 Mar 7;297(9):953-61
references.pmid: 17341709