The latest issue of JAMA talks about the controversy over supposedly objective authors essentially taking industry sponsored trials and presenting them as pieces of research that are more independent than they actually are. While this strikes the credibility of the author, this is also disconcerting as it exposes the large influence that companies play in gaining credibility of their products through what should be objective means. The study found that substantial research conducted by corporations but left unattributed was found in 13% of research articles and 10% of review articles. From the JAMA:

“This same pattern occurred for the manuscript describing the Merck protocol 901 studies, which compared the efficacy of rofecoxib and naproxen in Asian and European populations. An e-mail written on behalf of members of Merck’s publication committee to a Merck scientist states that the European study had been prepared as a manuscript and that a draft was shared with the European authors, in addition to describing 2 Merck employees who will prepare the manuscript describing the Asian study. However, the final publication describes both trials in a single article and lists neither of them as authors.”

Stricter standards must be enforced during the peer-review process of journal article submissions, ensuring that published research, especially those with the highest impact factors, can be trusted as research made in earnest and without questionable influence.