RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Theory vs. Hypothesis

• Theory – A belief or assumption about how things relate to each
other – A theory establishes a cause-and-effect relationship between
variables with a purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena –
Based on inductive reasoning
• Hypothesis – A belief or prediction of the final outcome of the
research – A concrete, specific statement about the relationships
between phenomena – Based on deductive reasoning
Theory vs. Hypothesis
• The most common use of hypotheses is to test whether an existing theory can be
used to solve a problem. In everyday situations those who confront problems often
propose informal hypotheses that can be tested directly.
• For example, when a lamp fails to light when the switch is turned on, several
hypotheses come to mind, based on our understanding of electricity and on our
past experiences with lamps:
• 1. The plug is not properly connected to the wall outlet. 2. The bulb is burned out. 3.
The fuse is burned out or the circuit breaker has been tripped. 4. There has been a
power failure in the neighborhood.
• Each of these speculations can be tested directly by checking the plug connection,
substituting a bulb known to be in working condition, inspecting the fuse or circuit
breaker, or noting whether other lights in the house, or in neighbors' houses, are on.
The Research Hypothesis
• The research or scientific hypothesis is a formal affirmative
statement predicting a single research outcome, a tentative
explanation of the relationship between two or more variables.
• For the hypothesis to be testable, the variables must be
operationally defined. That is, the researcher specifies what
operations were conducted, or tests used, to measure each variable.
Thus, the hypothesis focuses the investigation on a definite target
and determines what observations, or measures, are to be used
The Research Hypothesis
• Is a statement of the predicted relationship between two or more
variables in a research study; an educated or calculated guess by the
researcher
• After the literature review has been completed and the problem has
been stated in question form, a researcher should begin formulating a
research hypothesis
• hypothesis can be either a null hypothesis or an alternative
hypothesis. A null hypothesis in research is a statement of no
relationship among the variables being investigated while an alternative
hypothesis is a statement that predicts the relationship among the
variables being investigated.
The Research Hypothesis CONT…
• In the behavioral sciences the variables may be abstractions that
cannot be observed. These variables must be defined operationally
by describing some samples of actual behavior that are concrete
enough to be observed directly.
• The relationship between these observable incidents may be
deduced as consistent or inconsistent with the consequences of the
hypothesis.
• Thus, the hypothesis may be judged to be probably true or probably
false.
Stating Null hypotheses for
directional/Non-directional
hypotheses:
• Both null and research hypotheses can be stated in a directional or non-directional fashion,
depending on the nature of the investigation and the research question to be answered
• Directional hypotheses always indicate or state whether something is greater or less. The
following are the examples of directional hypothesis:
• When researchers in non directional research are dealing with the testing of hypotheses they
have to collect data on that particular subject they are interested whether is intelligence or
achievement or aptitudes etc. after data collection it follows the comparison of results from
the sample population to find if the difference or relationship exists; this creates a problem,
because every-time you use sample data instead of the entire population, you run the risk of
making an error since chances are the average of the sample will not be exactly equal to the
average of the population it was taken.
• Therefore, to consider this issue, researchers have to include the word “significant” in their
hypothesis; and this means a researcher will be looking for a difference that is due to
something other than chance.
Stating Null hypotheses for
directional hypotheses:
• Both null and research hypotheses can be stated in a directional or non-directional fashion,
depending on the nature of the investigation and the research question to be answered
• Directional hypotheses always indicate or state whether something is greater or less. The
following are the examples of directional hypothesis:
• When researchers in non directional research are dealing with the testing of hypotheses they
have to collect data on that particular subject they are interested whether is intelligence or
achievement or aptitudes etc. after data collection it follows the comparison of results from
the sample population to find if the difference or relationship exists; this creates a problem,
because every-time you use sample data instead of the entire population, you run the risk of
making an error since chances are the average of the sample will not be exactly equal to the
average of the population it was taken.
• Therefore, to consider this issue, researchers have to include the word “significant” in their
hypothesis; and this means a researcher will be looking for a difference that is due to
something other than chance.
• Therefore we can re-write our hypotheses in this way:
a. Students taking mathematics in the morning sessions have significantly higher
levels of achievement than students taking mathematics in the afternoon sessions.
b. There will be a significant difference in mathematical achievement between
students taking algebra in a block schedule and students taking algebra in a traditional
schedule.
c. Children attending schools where uniforms are required do not have
significantly fewer disciplinary problems than children attending schools where
uniforms are not required.
d. There will be no significant difference in the number of disciplinary problems
between children attending schools where uniforms are required and children
attending schools where uniforms are not required.
• Hence, adding the word “significant” to research hypotheses is to support
the researcher’s desire to ensure that any difference they find when testing
or analyzing data is “real” and not due to chance. Once the data for the
study are collected, researchers use inferential statistics to sort out the
difference.
The Null Hypothesis (Ho)
• Relationship between variables is Stated in a negative, or null, form.
• There is no significant relationship/difference between….
• The null hypothesis relates to a statistical method of interpreting
conclusions about population characteristics that are inferred from
the variable relationships observed in samples.
• The null hypothesis asserts that observed differences or
relationships result merely from chance errors inherent in the
sampling process
The Alternative Hypothesis
• Alternative or research hypothesis are formulated based on prior
research or observations and it is what the researcher wants to
investigate. However, the null hypothesis is nothing more than
the exact opposite of the research hypothesis.
• If a research hypothesis states that:
1. Children attending schools where uniforms are required have fewer disciplinary
problems than children in schools where uniforms are not required.
• Its null counterpart will be:
1. Children attending schools where uniforms are required do not have fewer
disciplinary problems than children in schools where uniforms are not required.