BMJ  2005;331:456 (20 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7514.456-a

Letter

Dissemination of results needs to be tracked as well as the funding is

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Decullier et al evaluated some of the factors influencing publication of health related research projects.¹ They examined research activity outcomes from the perspective of research ethics approval.

Registration of clinical trials is not universally required, and sponsor databases are necessarily limited in scope. However, approval by a research ethics committee is required for all research on human subjects and includes protocols regardless of funding status and origin. We agree with this approach and believe that research ethics approval is the earliest convergence in the birth of research projects on human subjects and an ideal perspective from which to study the subsequent events in a project's life cycle.

Failure to disseminate results is considered to be research misconduct and is an urgent scientific and ethical concern.^{2 3} As confirmed by Decullier et al, selective dissemination of research results in publication bias, typically skewing the literature towards reports with positive findings. . . . [Full text of this article]

jmccorma@interchange.ubc.ca
Division of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Division of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

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