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Hypothesis

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Diana Lisseth Hernández Castro
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23 views16 pages

Hypothesis

Uploaded by

Diana Lisseth Hernández Castro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HYPOTHESIS

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What is a hypothesis?

• A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a
tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. For
some research projects, you might have to write several hypotheses that
address different aspects of your research question.

• A hypothesis is not just a guess — it should be based on existing theories and


knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute
it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations and
statistical analysis of data).
Variables in hypotheses
• Hypotheses propose a relationship between two or more
variables. An independent variable is something the researcher
changes or controls. A dependent variable is something the
researcher observes and measures.

• In this example, the independent variable is apple consumption


— the assumed cause. The dependent variable is the frequency
of doctor’s visits — the assumed effect.
Developing a hypothesis
• 1. Ask a question
• Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The
question should be focused, specific, and researchable within the constraints of your
project.
• Do students who attend more lectures get better exam results?

• 2. Do some preliminary research


• Your initial answer to the question should be based on what is already known about the
topic. Look for theories and previous studies to help you form educated assumptions
about what your research will find.

• At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to identify which variables
you will study and what you think the relationships are between them.
• 3. Formulate your hypothesis
• Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Write your initial
answer to the question in a clear, concise sentence.
• Attending more lectures leads to better exam results.

• 4. Refine your hypothesis


• You need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are
various ways of phrasing a hypothesis, but all the terms you use should have
clear definitions, and the hypothesis should contain:
• The relevant variables
• The specific group being studied
• The predicted outcome of the experiment or analysis
• 5. Phrase your hypothesis in three ways
• To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in if…then form. The first part of the
sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent variable.

• If a first-year student starts attending more lectures, then their exam scores will improve.

• In academic research, hypotheses are more commonly phrased in terms of correlations or


effects, where you directly state the predicted relationship between variables.

• The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a positive effect on their exam
scores.

• If you are comparing two groups, the hypothesis can state what difference you expect to find
between them.

• First-year students who attended most lectures will have better exam scores than those who
attended few lectures.
• 6. Write a null hypothesis
• If your research involves statistical hypothesis testing, you will also
have to write a null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the default
position that there is no association between the variables. The
null hypothesis is written as H0, while the alternative hypothesis is
H1 or Ha.

• H0: The number of lectures attended by first-year students has no


effect on their final exam scores.
• H1: The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a
positive effect on their final exam scores.
Work in groups and write
your Hypothesis.

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