I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, since my question is a bit more general to all of social sciences (indeed sciences in general), but I figured since Economics is a social science and since the question I have is somewhat economics related someone here might have an idea. I am a statistician but work with a lot of economists who test various economic theories through observational data (not experimentation). Some of the "studies" I've seen carried out recently concern me because it seems, no matter the findings our outcomes, one particular researcher tries to tie the specific results back to a pet theory of his. In other words, the hypotheses are not clearly laid out in advance, but he looks at some data and if it shows 1 thing, he's say, Ah-ha, that is because my theory explains it. But if the same data showed just the opposite finding, he's still say, ah-ha, this is because my theory explains it! Specifically, let's say he compares 2 items for purchase that are identical in all physical aspects but one. If the price of item A is higher than price B, he's explain it with this theory. But if price of item A is lower than B, he'd simply twist his theory to to explain it as well.
Is there a name for this? It sounds like confirmation bias a bit, but not quite. I'm just curious if there is a name for this way of manipulating the findings to fit a narrative? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.