Managing Conflict of Interest in Research: Some Suggestions for Investigators

Conflict of interest situations threaten to compromise objectivity and tempt researchers to act wrongly. Allowing oneself to drift into such situations without appropriate preparation is negligence which is, itself, a sort of wrongdoing. Since conflict of interest is unlikely to be eliminated or tamed by the professional--and institutional--level safeguards currently under discussion, individual researchers must make their own preparations. We offer individuals ten strategies for managing their own conflicts of interest.