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Industry influenced evidence production in collaborative research communities: a network analysis
Adam G Dunn1, Blanca Gallego, Enrico Coiera
1Centre for Health Informatics, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. a.dunn@unsw.edu.au
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
|February 4, 2012
Summary
Authors directly affiliated with pharmaceutical companies hold more central positions in research networks. This industry influence may shape the evidence produced in drug research communities.
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Research
- Bibliometrics
- Network Science
Background:
- Industry involvement in research can potentially influence scientific evidence production.
- Understanding the structural position and impact of industry authors is crucial for assessing research integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the influence of industry-affiliated authors within collaborative research networks.
- To analyze the impact of industry authors on evidence generation in pharmaceutical research.
Main Methods:
- Constructed 22 collaboration networks using data from 6,711 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) across 22 drugs and 28,104 authors.
- Identified directly industry-affiliated (DIA) authors and analyzed their network centrality and citation impact.
- Examined network structures, community composition, and collaborative patterns.
Main Results:
- Six percent of authors were directly affiliated with drug manufacturers.
- Industry authors exhibited significantly higher network centrality and received more citations compared to non-industry authors.
- DIA authors demonstrated broader network reach and collaborated frequently with non-industry authors.
Conclusions:
- Industry-based authors are integral to drug research communities, occupying central network positions.
- Their embeddedness suggests a significant potential to influence the flow of information and the evidence produced.
- Further investigation into potential confounders like publication bias is warranted.
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