Can You Trust the Research? Not Always

By John M Grohol PsyD
April 16, 2008

For everyone who trumpets the invincibility of peer-reviewed research, here’s another nail in the coffin…

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association today described how multiple Vioxx studies were ghostwritten for the researchers by, yes, you guessed it, Merck & Co.-paid writers. Researchers were welcomed to edit or change the writing, but not all researchers did. And at the end of the day, it’s not really the same thing as composing the prose yourself, is it?

Sadly, Merck is claiming this is a widespread, accepted practice within the industry:

A Merck legal spokesman said the company sometimes uses outside companies to draft articles that summarize research on its drugs. “That’s a common evolving practice in the industry,” said spokesman Kent Jarrell.

What happens in these instances is simple. The company sends the research the written draft of the article. The researcher is expected to review the draft, make edits and changes, and when they’re happy with it, submit it for publication. When someone writes something for someone else, the accepted word for that is “ghostwriting.” But Merck is claiming this isn’t ghostwriting, so apparently their dictionary is missing this entry.

At the end of the day, researchers know better. They know that if they get a “draft” from a writer that was paid by the manufacturer of that drug, that’s not fair, balanced, or right. In fact, I would hope the universities that these researchers are associated with take a long, hard and serious look at these researchers, and all of their work. Because a part of research is writing, even though it may not be the most fun or sexy part.

While ghostwriting may be fine for biographies, it’s not so good for empirical, objective research studies published by respected journals in the field. I hope journals and universities work to put a stop to this insidious and unethical practice sooner rather than later.

Read the full article: Journal: Drug firm paid MDs for bylines

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.