The New York Times recently reported on a proposed policy change at the Environmental Protection Agency that would require the agency to only rely on scientific research with publicly available data when setting pollution exposure standards. Proponents of the rule argue that the practice would allow other researchers to examine and replicate findings, an essential characteristic of the scientific method. Opponents argue the rule would exclude large amounts of research that rely on confidential health information that cannot be public. The Times quotes opponents who view the policy change as an attempt by the Trump administration to attack regulations they don’t agree with by undermining the scientific results on which they are based.
Increased transparency in data used in empirical research and the facilitation of replication of studies are like mom and apple pie. In an ideal world, such practices are the very essence of the scientific method. In practice, academic journals in many disciplines already require that data used in empirical and experimental work be available for replication. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, no strangers to the limitations of data that include personal information, recently affirmed their commitment to responsible data sharing.
While opposition to transparency certainly has bad optics, the opponents of this rule change do have a point. The struggle over transparency isn’t really about transparency. Instead, it is simply the latest chapter in the scrum over two studies whose results are the bases of EPA decisions about appropriate clean air exposure standards.