Effective research requires a sense of trust among researchers, research participants, and the audience for the research. Conflicts of interest are ethically problematic because they undermine that trust. Moreover, research must be objective to be useful and trustworthy; conflicts of interest are ethically problematic because they undermine confidence in the integrity of the researcher and therefore in the objectivity of the research. The Colorado College IRB has not faced any conflict-of-interest situations in recent years but wishes to make information on the topic available to the CC human subjects research community.

For a good introduction to how IRBs understand conflicts of interest, please see this publication by the Department of Health and Human Services.