Should we always share data?

摘要

Not many clinicians or scientists would argue with the campaign by "AllTrials" to registerand report the full methods and results of clinical trials.1 But is it sensible to go so far as to "encourage authors of all BMJ papers to share their datasets publicly," so that all may see?We routinely reassure participants in clinical trialsthattheirdatawillbe held securelyand confidentially. Research ethics committees rightly' insist on locked filing cabinets and ensuringthat only the researchers have access to digital data.