CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITIES: A PIONEER INVESTIGATION IN JORDAN

Abstract

Conflict of interest (COI) is defined as a circumstance that might create a risk that professional judgments or actions regarding a primary interest, such as research, education or patient care, will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain or personal prestige. The aim of this article is to examine the management of conflict of interest in ten public and ten private Jordanian universities. Sufficient literature review was performed on the COI policies and regulation. Unfortunately, no sufficient COI information has been found from the published research regulations on the universities’ websites. Additionally, the legislation enforced by Ministries of higher education is presented. To conclude, there is a major need for regulation improvement, especially in the management of COI and its declaration processes. University leaders should assess the sufficiency of their COI management systems. Therefore, universities are urged to give immediate attention to reviewing and strengthening their COI policies. The regulations of funding for scientific research, as well as publication rules are not very different for public or private Jordanian universities.