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		<title>Disclosing conflicts of interest</title>
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							<p>The importance of disclosing conflicts of interest is widely recognised, placing a number of responsibilities upon researchers. </p> 
							
							<h3>Expectations for public disclosure of conflicts of interest</h3>
							
							<p>The virtues of honesty and transparency mean that, regardless of whether your institution has a clear conflict of interest policy, researchers should always disclose (and properly manage) their conflicts of interest.</p>

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									<h3>Would you want to know if a researcher...</h3>
	
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										<p>... who recommended one textbook over another was the primary author of the recommended textbook?</p>
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										<p>... reporting favourable results from a clinical trial was funded by a company that would benefit from the findings?</p>
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										<p>... confirming the safety of a new technological innovation held the patent on that innovation?</p>
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								<p>Consider whether you would want to know if a researcher...</p>
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									<li>Recommending one textbook over another was the primary author of the recommended textbook?</li>
									<li>Reporting favourable results from a clinical trial was funded by a company that would benefit from the findings?</li>
									<li>Confirming the safety of a new technological innovation held the patent on that innovation?</li>
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							<p>If you would answer 'yes' to these questions, you are certainly not alone. Whether it is explicitly required or not, these are all examples of when researchers should disclose their conflicts of interest.</p>
							
							<h3>Best practices for disclosure</h3>
							
							<p>In practice, when you are ready to share your research with others through any form of professional activity or research communication (e.g. publications or presentations), there are a few simple questions that you can ask yourself to ensure you are making the appropriate disclosures.</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>Consider each question and the explanation of how it should be addressed. Use the "Next" button to move on to the next question.</p></instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible><p>Consider each question, and then continue on for an explanation of how it should be addressed.</p></instructional-text-accessible>

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										<ctvm-question><p>Who should disclose their conflict of interest?</p></ctvm-question>
										<ctvm-feedback><p>Generally, everyone (including research collaborators) who is in some way responsible for any aspect of a research project (e.g. designing, conducting, reporting, peer-reviewing) is expected to disclose their conflicts of interest.</p></ctvm-feedback>
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										<ctvm-question><p>What interests are covered?</p></ctvm-question>
										<ctvm-feedback><p>Institutional policies usually focus on financial interests, since these are the easiest to identify and have historically led to the worst instances of research misconduct. It is important to remember that financial interests can assume many forms (for example, a free trip to a conference held at a popular holiday destination). Other conflicts of interest can include volunteer work, relationships with individuals or organisations that could benefit from your work, and personal convictions that could be seen as influencing the research.</p></ctvm-feedback>
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										<ctvm-question><p>When are interests significant enough to be disclosed?</p></ctvm-question>
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											<p>Views on what makes an interest 'significant' vary. For financial interests, some institutional policies set financial thresholds. Under these policies, an interest is significant if it is above a certain amount (often around &pound;50). However, a few policies (such as the UK Government's Civil Service code &ndash; see the "Useful links" pod) require that all financial benefit is disclosed.</p>
											<p>When considering financial interests, you should keep in mind that they extend beyond your own circumstances, also encompassing those of family members.</p>
											<p>For non-financial interests, any interest that could be perceived as impacting the research (e.g. honorary positions, participation in campaigning groups) should be disclosed.</p>
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										<ctvm-question><p>How should you disclose conflicts of interest?</p></ctvm-question>
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											<p>Disclosure requirements are usually set out in institutional, journal and/or professional conflict of interest policies. Based on these policies, you could be required to disclose your conflicts to:</p>
											<ul>
												<li>Someone at your institution</li>
												<li>Your grant office or funding agency</li>
												<li>Your readership (through publications)</li>
												<li>Your research participants</li>
												<li>Your colleagues (if you are submitting your work for peer review).</li>
											</ul>
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										<ctvm-question><p>What happens if a conflict of interest is confirmed?</p></ctvm-question>
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											<p>Conflicts of interest can be handled in many ways:</p>
											<ul>
												<li>Making a full disclosure</li>
												<li>Changing the research plan</li>
												<li>Monitoring by independent researchers</li>
												<li>Divesting relevant interests</li>
												<li>Ending relationships that create conflicts.</li>
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								<h4>Question 1 of 5:</h4>
								<p>Who should disclose their conflict of interest?</p>
								<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								<p>Generally, everyone (including research collaborators) who is in some way responsible for any aspect of a research project (e.g. designing, conducting, reporting, peer-reviewing) is expected to disclose their conflicts of interest.</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Question 2 of 5:</h4>
								<p>What interests are covered?</p>
								<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								<p>Institutional policies usually focus on financial interests, since these are the easiest to identify and have historically led to the worst instances of research misconduct. It is important to remember that financial interests can assume many forms (for example, a free trip to a conference held at a popular holiday destination). Other conflicts of interest can include volunteer work, relationships with individuals or organisations that could benefit from your work, and personal convictions that could be seen as influencing the research.</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Question 3 of 5:</h4>
								<p>When are interests significant enough to be disclosed?</p>
								<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								<p>Views on what makes an interest 'significant' vary. For financial interests, some institutional policies set financial thresholds. Under these policies, an interest is significant if it is above a certain amount (often around &pound;50). However, a few policies (such as the UK Government's Civil Service code &ndash; see the "Useful links" pod) require that all financial benefit is disclosed. When considering financial interests, you should keep in mind that they extend beyond your own circumstances, also encompassing those of family members.</p>
								<p>For non-financial interests, any interest that could be perceived as impacting the research (e.g. honorary positions, participation in campaigning groups) should be disclosed.</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Question 4 of 5:</h4>
								<p>How should you disclose conflicts of interest?</p>
								<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								<p>Disclosure requirements are usually set out in institutional, journal and/or professional conflict of interest policies. Based on these policies, you could be required to disclose your conflicts to:</p>
								<ul>
									<li>Someone at your institution</li>
									<li>Your grant office or funding agency</li>
									<li>Your readership (through publications)</li>
									<li>Your research participants</li>
									<li>Your colleagues (if you are submitting your work for peer review).</li>
								</ul>
								<hr>
								<h4>Question 5 of 5:</h4>
								<p>What happens if a conflict of interest is confirmed?</p>
								<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								<p>Conflicts of interest can be handled in many ways:</p>
								<ul>
									<li>Making a full disclosure</li>
									<li>Changing the research plan</li>
									<li>Monitoring by independent researchers</li>
									<li>Divesting relevant interests</li>
									<li>Ending relationships that create conflicts.</li>
								</ul>
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							<p>When responding to these questions, be careful to avoid one common mistake: identifying and then dismissing a potential conflict of interest. Researchers sometimes recognise that they have a conflict of interest, but still feel confident that it will not influence their decision-making. While this might be true, it is still important to disclose your interests to let others make their own judgements as they read or review your research.</p>
							
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								<pod-heading>Useful links</pod-heading> <!-- pod title -->
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								<pod-modal-heading>Useful links</pod-modal-heading>
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										<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code" target="_blank">The Civil Service code</a></p>
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							<h3>Summary</h3>
							
							<p>If you look at conflicts of interests from the perspective of the public, it is easy to understand why disclosure is important. Your friends and close colleagues may know about your ties, connections and interests, but others do not. To ensure the public's confidence in your research and the research of others, you should:</p>
							
							<ul>
								<li>Take responsibility for identifying and reporting all the conflicts of interest that might affect your research</li>
								<li>Know how to report conflicts (though you can get advice from your institution if you are in doubt)</li>
								<li>Take the steps necessary to manage or eliminate any bias (or perceived bias) that may be caused by your conflicts of interest. (See the "Useful links" pod for links to studies examining the impact of bias on research.)</li>
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								<pod-modal-heading>Useful links</pod-modal-heading>
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										<p><strong>Studies on bias in research</strong></p>
										<p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001578" target="_blank">Financial conflicts of interest and reporting bias regarding the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review of systematic reviews</a></p>
										<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24080933" target="_blank">Positive association between conflicts of interest and reporting of positive results in randomized clinical trials in dentistry</a></p>
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