How do disclosure policies fail? Let us count the ways

Abstract

ABSTRACT The disclosure policies of scientific journals now require that investigators provide information about financial interests relevant to their research. The main goals of these policies are to prevent bias from occurring, to help identify bias when it occurs, and to avoid the appearance of bias. We argue here that such policies do little to help achieve these goals, and we suggest more effective alternatives.—De Melo‐Martin, I., Intemann, K. How do disclosure policies fail? Let us count the ways. FASEB J. 23, 1638–1642 (2009)