For our purposes then, a good working definition of a conflict of interest and commitment in research must relate directly to the first-stated presupposition, namely that each researcher is seeking and stating the truth, and secondly, the researcher is doing this whether it is profitable to the researcher or not.
Accordingly, any action the researcher takes which causes or suggests truth seeking and truth stating to be secondary to a benefit the researcher expects to achieve as direct or indirect result of the research presents a conflict of interest and commitment or the appearance of one.
The most highly prized social value--truth--is in conflict with the otherwise honorable value of "personal benefit." In other words, the conflict arises from the placement of individual goals over those of the group in the context of this special form of social activity.
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