Nerd’s notes: How we did the ClinicalTrials.gov data analysis

I have a dream that one day all public information and all software will be free, transparent, and open source, and all people will have the skills to benefit from it. We are not living in my dream world yet. But here at STAT, we’re trying to do our part to open up a little more data stored in government databases.

Our first major project after we launched was a deep data-intensive dive into clinical trials compliance. In December 2015, we published “Failure to Report,” an investigation of the reporting of human study results to ClinicalTrials.gov by government, academic, and industry scientists. We found flagrant violations of federal law and non-existent enforcement.

We didn’t just publish and hope for the best. We went back this year to check whether research organizations were doing a better job posting results. That appears to.