Research Funding

From my heart and from my hand
Why don't people understand 
My intentions
--Oingo Bingo

Funding in the form of grants, scholarships, contracts, etc is the lifeblood for many researchers. Resource dependence theory suggests that researchers will be tempted to slant their research if necessary in order to maintain funding flows from external entities.

Research funding might stem from private or public sources. A private research foundation could fund studies as could government agencies.

External entities might fund research for various purposes. They might fund research out of innate curiosity that formal inquiry can satisfy. They might also fund research because they have agendas that could be legitimized by results from formal studies.

When it is agenda driven, research funding becomes just another market for bias. Domains that have become particularly susceptible to agenda-driven studies include healthcare and climate research.

Understanding the "who" and "for what purpose" behind funding sources adds perspective when making sense of research reports.