It is not mentioned and was not obvious to me. Still, I'd postpone writing the conclusion to after you actually have the data. To do otherwise would be steering the experiments to get the expected results. I also reckon this depends on your field, how long the experiments take and your confidence in the results.
> Really annoys me when the word fraud is thrown around so freely, so I'd appreciate it if you don't.
I agree, 'academic dishonesty' is a more appropriate term here.
You typically have a finite set of overall results you expect to get, usually something like positive or negative. It helps to write out what you would conclude when you get either results. Think of this like a process that helps make your ideas clearer. And makes writing your final paper a lot easier.
> Obviously you rewrite the whole paper
It is not mentioned and was not obvious to me. Still, I'd postpone writing the conclusion to after you actually have the data. To do otherwise would be steering the experiments to get the expected results. I also reckon this depends on your field, how long the experiments take and your confidence in the results.
> Really annoys me when the word fraud is thrown around so freely, so I'd appreciate it if you don't.
I agree, 'academic dishonesty' is a more appropriate term here.