Conflicts of Interest

Abstract

There are many institutions and relationships that researchers are involved in every day. One’s affiliation to a university, funding agencies, department, corporate partners, or even family and friends may present conflicts of duties that can impede research or cause harm. Sorting out the nature of our duties, and being aware of the various individuals and institutions to which we owe duties, is essential to avoiding the harms that may come. Not all conflicts of interest can be avoided, nor need they be harmful, and so recognizing when and how to avoid, or at least be transparent, about conflicts when they arise and prevent harm when possible is crucial. As with other norms of scientific and research behavior, we can be guided by the Mertonian norms to help navigate the dangers presented by complex collaborative ventures common in modern science, and devise mechanisms that may help us to avoid the harms that may accrue. In this chapter, I try to define a conflict of interest and provide some guidance and examples to help researchers understand them, avoid them, or at least be aware of them and provide the best transparency to the parties involved.