Not really answering the question, which was "how do you know it works?"
I would contend that if you have proven to yourself that your code works and are therefore capable of proving it to other folks (via e.g. solid testing), you should not be ashamed of the spit and glue.
It is research code, we all know what that looks like. But if, on the other hands you haven't proven to yourself it works, then it's definitely something to be ashamed of - scientifically speaking.
I would contend that if you have proven to yourself that your code works and are therefore capable of proving it to other folks (via e.g. solid testing), you should not be ashamed of the spit and glue.
It is research code, we all know what that looks like. But if, on the other hands you haven't proven to yourself it works, then it's definitely something to be ashamed of - scientifically speaking.