Conflict of interest in the peer review process: A survey of peer review reports.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To assess the extent to which peer reviewers and journals editors address study funding and authors' conflicts of interests (COI). Also, we aimed to assess the extent to which peer reviewers and journals editors reported and commented on their own or each other's COI.

Study design and methods

We conducted a systematic survey of original studies published in open access peer reviewed journals that publish their peer review reports. Using REDCap, we collected data in duplicate and independently from journals' websites and articles' peer review reports.

Results

We included a sample of original studies (N = 144) and a second one of randomized clinical trials (N = 115) RCTs. In both samples, and for the majority of studies, reviewers reported absence of COI (70%

SUBMITTER: Makarem A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10249818 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature