Privacy vs. Scientific Integrity

     

        The internet has undoubtedly changed the way information is shared for the better.  Almost any data, technique, or software a researcher needs can be found instantly online.  Long gone are the days of going to the library to find information that is several years old.  Now, anyone can see a scientific journal or conference paper the second it is published on a website.  As a result, the rate of scientific discovery has grown exponentially.  In fact, even everyday citizens are able to increase the rate of scientific discovery through the internet and mobile apps. Throughout history, the sharing of information has likely played the most important role in the advancement of science.

     As much as the internet has aided in the collection, classification, and analysis of data, the results must still be evaluated to ensure the conclusions are accurate.  Many times, data is analyzed by the very company that is hoping for a particular result.  Bias in data analysis is a very real and common occurrence.  Take for example cigarette companies and their analysis of its health effects.  For years, they amazingly couldn’t find any evidence of cigarettes harmful effects.  I’m sure the fact that their profit came from the sale of cigarettes had no effect on their research.  This is why many conferences and scientific journals require their contributors to provide their data along with their results.  It is very important to eliminate bias and one way to do this is to allow others to analyze the same data and see if they come up with the same conclusion. 

     This is where a new problem is emerging in the world of data analysis.  While the internet has allowed scientific research to make unprecedented strides, the advent of social media and search engines has complicated things.  Sites like Facebook and Google collect massive amounts of data on their users.  Information such as geographic location, age, race, buying or browsing trends, and who our friends are provides companies with extremely valuable marketing data.  Unfortunately, this is where user privacy versus scientific integrity disagrees.  Copyright laws, government legislation, and fierce competition are just a few of the hurdles researchers are encountering with respect to providing data with their research.  This leads to many scenarios where data analysis must be taken at face value without the ability to be validated.  There are many problems with this direction of scientific analysis.  The most obvious problem with private data is that biased research can be presented with little accountability.  When only one entity has access to the data, they can claim any results they wish.  The prevalence of this emerging problem may best be summarized with this quote:

“A recent review found that 44 of 50 leading scientific journals instructed their authors on sharing    data but that fewer than 30 percent of the papers they published fully adhered to the instructions. A 2008 review of sharing requirements for genetics data found that 40 of 70 journals surveyed had policies, and that 17 of those were “weak.””

     At present, there is no easy solution to this problem.  Users will demand that their privacy is respected.  Cell phone records, for example, must remain anonymous to protect people’s rights.  Realistically, a company can’t publicly provide a list of people’s names, addresses, phone numbers, and buying habits without incurring legal problems.  Unfortunately, this also means that any analysis on this data cannot be validated by the scientific community without the burden, financial and otherwise, of collecting the data itself.  It would be infeasible for the scientific community to collect their own data on every piece of research presented. 

     

     In conclusion, the internet has drastically accelerated scientific research and information sharing, but may end up leading to biased and inaccurate, or even fraudulent, results.  What is more important, privacy or scientific integrity?

Sources

TMarkoff, John. "Troves of Personal Data, Forbidden to Researchers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 May 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2013.

“Citizen-Research” Expands the Rate of Scientific Discovery." The Monroe Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2013.