Disclaimer: I have done privately funded research.<p>I&#x27;d say the answer is likely &#x27;yes&#x27; - even for those who are trying to be conscious about it, there&#x27;s a desire for things to work, to make people...well...happy. No one is going to be really excited to know their drug is shit. I&#x27;ve heard private industry researchers talk about this, even in companies that make an effort to shield research from finances - you don&#x27;t want to let the team down.<p>On the other hand, you know what else corrupts research? Wondering where the funding for your soft money lab is going to come from. How you&#x27;re going to pay your grad students, technicians, etc.<p>Research costs money, and the government has been providing less and less of it. The gap has to be made up somewhere.