February 1, 2002

While it is generally acknowledged that the progress of science depends upon the free exchange of resources and knowledge, a new study finds that data, materials and information often are kept secret in academic genetics. "The ability to reproduce scientific information is important," says Eric G. Campbell, PhD, of the MGH Institute for Health Policy. "When people don’t share published resources, the rate of scientific advance may be slowed." Campbell is first author of the study, which appears in the Jan. 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The researchers surveyed geneticists and other life scientists at 100 leading U.S. research universities. They found that 47 percent of geneticists who asked other faculty for materials relating to published scientific findings had been denied at least once during the past three years. Overall, 10 percent of all post-publication requests for additional information in genetics were denied. Twenty-eight percent of geneticists said they had been unable to replicate published research results because of a lack of access, and a quarter had to delay their own publications because of data withholding by their peers.

Among the geneticists responding to the survey, 12 percent said they had denied requests for their own information or materials. They cited such reasons as a lack of money and time, as well as the need to protect their own and colleagues’ ability to publish future research findings. "Resource limitations, competitive forces in academic science and the potential for commercial application of research all work against the ideal of open sharing in science," says David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, director of the MGH Institute for Health Policy and senior author of the JAMA article.