data analysis data dredging Data fishing Data mining practice in which large volumes of data are analysed seeking any possible relationships between data. The traditional scientific method, in contrast, begins with a hypothesis and follows with an examination of the data. Data dredging often circumvents traditional data mining techniques and may lead to premature conclusions. Uncovered patterns may be presented as statistically significant without any specific hypothesis as to the underlying causality. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5214-4466 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2687-1982