[MaulingMonkey]

> I think what you're describing is just fraud.

Fraud requires intent. Now, this extreme of bias would typically require said intent, sure. But let's say the experimenter has anterograde amnesia.

They get an idea, flip a coin - oh hey, it's heads! They publish the interesting result. They get an idea, flip a coin - oh, it was tails, nevermind that theory. They get an idea... each time, they don't remember that they've already attempted the theory. No intent, no fraud, just bias.

The good news is this is a pretty unlikely extreme in an individual. Anterograde amnesia is rare. The bad news is nobody can remember that someone else attempted a theory and came up with a negative result that they didn't bother to publish, and even individuals will have a hard time perfectly accounting for and preventing their own bias within a single study. The even worse news is that fraud exists as well.