Clinicalls.gov recently released data on 45,620 clinical trials that was categorized by design characteristics, funder type and disease area to help identify patterns of trial publication in medical journals. Fascinatingly, the analysis revealed correlations between whether a study is published or not and variables such as phase size, design choices and even what specialty it relates too! Lead author Mdalena Zerzyna commented “It’s amazing how much influence small factors can have over larger outcomes -especially when dealing with something as important as research.
It is clear that the scientific record contains missing pieces, and what remains may not always be reliable. In other words, there are many unknowns when analyzing existing research – making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about our world.
