Prof James Coyne has received a reply from the authors of the PACE trial refusing access to data:
11 December 2015
Dear Professor Coyne,
Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”)
Further to your recent request for information held by King’s College London, I am
writing to confirm that the requested information is held by the university. The
university is withholding the information in accordance with section 14(1) of the Act
– Vexatious Request.
Prof Coyne’s blog post pondering the future of academic data sharing: Why I don’t know how PLOS will respond to authors’ refusal to release data, 13 Dec 2015
MEAction’s summary: “Vexatious”: King’s college London dismisses James Coyne’s request for PLOS one PACE data, Dec 12
PACE Trial’s Forbidden Fruit: Why We Must Be Allowed A Look Inside, in the self-taught author, 13 Dec 2015. Excerpt:
The university focused a lot on the damage to reputation and potential criticism of the authors, however if the data is sound, if it supports their assertions about PACE as they have published then there should be no anxiety over this whatsoever. Indeed, if the authors scientific method is sound then release of the data would vindicate them, and would surely enhance their reputations. If the serious allegation of “improper motives” as they put it, has any validity be it by those who wish for openness or those arguing for concealment, the only way to determine this is to release the data.
