HARKing

HARKing (hypothesizing after the results are known) is an acronym coined by social psychologist Norbert Kerr[1] that refers to the questionable research practice of "presenting a post hoc hypothesis in the introduction of a research report as if it were an a priori hypothesis".[1][2] Hence, a key characteristic of HARKing is that post hoc hypothesizing is falsely portrayed as a priori hypothesizing.[3] HARKing may occur when a researcher tests an a priori hypothesis but then omits that hypothesis from their research report after they find out the results of their test; inappropriate forms of post hoc analysis or post hoc theorizing then may lead to a post hoc hypothesis.

  1. ^ a b Kerr, N. L. (1998). "HARKing: Hypothesizing after the results are known". Personality and Social Psychology Review. 2 (3): 196–217. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0203_4. PMID 15647155.
  2. ^ John, L. K.; Loewenstein, G.; Prelec, D. (2012). "Measuring the prevalence of questionable research practices with incentives for truth telling". Psychological Science. 23 (5): 524–532. doi:10.1177/0956797611430953. PMID 22508865. S2CID 8400625.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lishner (2021) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).