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Junk science
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== Motivations == Junk science happens for different reasons: researchers believing that their ideas are correct before proper analysis (a sort of scientific self-delusion or [[drinking the Kool-Aid]]), researchers biased with their study designs, and/or a "plain old lack of ethics".<ref name=":2" /> Being overly attached to one's own ideas can cause research to veer from ordinary junk science (e.g., designing an experiment that is expected to produce the desired results) into [[scientific fraud]] (e.g., lying about the results) and [[pseudoscience]] (e.g., claiming that the unfavorable results actually proved the idea correct).<ref name=":2" /> Junk science can occur when the perpetrator has something to gain from arriving at the desired conclusion. It can often happen in the testimony of [[expert witness]]es in legal proceedings, and especially in the self-serving [[advertising]] of products and services.<ref name=":3" /> These situations may encourage researchers to make sweeping or overstated claims based on limited evidence.<ref name=":3" />
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