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Characteristics of Hypothesis in Research Methodology
Characteristics of Hypothesis in Research Methodology
Characteristics of Hypothesis in Research Methodology
Ordinarily, when one talks about hypothesis, one simply means a mere assumption or some
supposition to be proved or disproved. But for a researcher hypothesis is a formal question
that he intends to resolve. Thus a hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of
proposition set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of
phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide some investigation
or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts. Quite often a research
hypothesis is a predictive statement, capable of being tested by scientific methods, that
relates an independent variable to some dependent variable. For example, consider
statements like the following ones:
“Students who receive counselling will show a greater increase in creativity than students
not receiving counselling” Or “the automobile A is performing as well as automobile B.”
These are hypotheses capable of being objectively verified and tested. Thus, we may conclude that a
hypothesis states what we are looking for and it is a proposition which can be put to a test to
determine its validity.
The simpler meaning of hypothesis is an educated guess that is developed for a study. If I am asked
to define hypotheses in an easy manner then I find it as a tentative supposition that is used to
explain facts. Most often, scientific methods like observation, investigation and experimentation are
adopted to test such propositions. However, it is also a fact that hypothesis might be correct as well
as wrong when proven through investigation and can be accepted, rejected or verified after its
scrutiny.
Hypothesis generate in a way that scientists or researchers carry out experiments or studies
regarding any problem or phenomenon after they identify an issue or feel that some facts need to be
explored further. Then they declare what actually happens during their course of study- how
something occurs and produces further implications. The purpose of such activity is to draw
solutions to a problem. Various hypotheses can be generated in this way to a single problem in order
to identify its effects and to draw out solutions further. For example, the chances of childhood obesity
increases with the increase in junk food intake or another hypothesis to childhood obesity could be
like this; the chances of childhood obesity increase with the increase in sugar intake or fried food
intake. So, this is a simple example how an issue can further be explored with different hypotheses.
As far as scientific hypotheses are concerned, it is obvious that most of them are written as “if” and
“then” showing a relation between cause and effect. In this regard, hypothesis statement examples
involve,
If a pregnant woman goes for iron intake daily then there will be a healthy baby and less
possibility of a birth with anemia
If a person decreases sugar intake in diet then he/ she will not develop tooth cavities
Independent variable is the one whose deviation does not depend on the other variable whereas; a
dependent variable is one whose variations depend on the other variable. The value of a dependent
variable changes with the change in independent variable. Here are some good examples to make
the concept clear for the readers.
If government and institutions involve public participation at large then the government and
institutions would be more efficient, democratic and responsive as compared to the government
owned institutions. In this example the independent variable is the public participation whereas
the qualities owned by the government are dependent variable because these are the effect of
public participation.
Increase amount of water and sunlight will escalate rice production. In this hypothesis water and
sunlight are independent variables whereas escalated rice production is dependent variable
because increase in growth of rice depends on the amount of independent variables given.
If a criminal under 18 learns a skill in juvenile jail then he will be less likely to go for another
crime when released. In this hypothesis, learning a skill is an independent variable whereas its
effect to have less probability of crime in later stages is dependent variable.
The Criteria of a Good Hypothesis in Research Methodology are a set of predefined characteristics.
Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they all
meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects scientific research
to satisfy the following criteria:
1. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts bemused.
2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another
researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has
already been attained.
3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that areas
objective as possible.
4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and
estimate their effects upon the findings.
5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods
of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be
checked carefully.
6. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to
those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
7. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good
reputation in research and is a person of integrity.
Let's take a closer look at how a hypothesis is used, formed, and tested in scientific
research.
1. Forming a question
2. Performing background research
3. Creating a hypothesis
4. Designing an experiment
5. Collecting data
6. Analyzing the results
7. Drawing conclusions
8. Communicating the results
The hypothesis is what the researchers' predict the relationship between two or more
variables, but it involves more than a guess. Most of the time, the hypothesis begins with
a question which is then explored through background research. It is only at this point
that researchers begin to develop a testable hypothesis.
In a study exploring the effects of a particular drug, the hypothesis might be that
researchers expect the drug to have some type of effect on the symptoms of a specific
illness. In psychology, the hypothesis might focus on how a certain aspect of the
environment might influence a particular behavior.
Unless you are creating a study that is exploratory in nature, your hypothesis should
always explain what you expect to happen during the course of your experiment or
research.
Remember, a hypothesis does not have to be correct. While the hypothesis predicts what
the researchers expect to see, the goal of the research is to determine whether this guess is
right or wrong. When conducting an experiment, researchers might explore a number of
factors to determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome.
In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment do not support the
original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other
options that should be explored in future studies.
In many cases, researchers might draw a hypothesis from a specific theory or build on
previous research. For example, prior research has shown that stress can impact the
immune system. So a researcher might for a specific hypothesis that: "People with high-
stress levels will be more likely to contract a common cold after being exposed to the
virus than are people who have low-stress levels."
In other instances, researchers might look at commonly held beliefs or folk wisdom.
"Birds of a feather flock together" is one example of folk wisdom that a psychologist
might try to investigate. The researcher might pose a specific hypothesis that "People
tend to select romantic partners who are similar to them in interests and educational
level."
Elements of a Good Hypothesis
When trying to come up with a good hypothesis for your own research or experiments,
ask yourself the following questions:
Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing background
research on your topic. Once you have completed a literature review, start thinking about
potential questions you still have. Pay attention to the discussion section in the journal
articles you read. Many authors will suggest questions that still need to be explored.
For example, a researcher might be interested in the relationship between study habits
and test anxiety.
The researcher would propose a hypothesis about how these two variables are related,
such as "Test anxiety decreases as a result of effective study habits."
Students sometimes confuse the idea of falsifiability with the idea that it means that
something is false, which is not the case. What falsifiability means is that if something
was false, then it is possible to demonstrate that it is false.
One of the hallmarks of a pseudoscience is that it makes claims that cannot be refuted or
proven false.
In the previous example, study habits and test anxiety are the two variables in this
imaginary study. A variable is a factor or element that can be changed and manipulated in
ways that are observable and measurable. However, the researcher must also define
exactly what each variable is using what is known as operational definitions. These
definitions explain how the variable will be manipulated and measured in the study.
These precise descriptions of each variable are important because many things can be
measured in a number of different ways. One of the basic principles of any type of
scientific research is that the results must be replicable. By clearly detailing the specifics
of how the variables were measured and manipulated, other researchers can better
understand the results and repeat the study if needed.
Some variables are more difficult than others to define. How would you operationally
define a variable such as aggression? For obvious ethical reasons, researchers cannot
create a situation in which a person behaves aggressively toward others. In order to
measure this variable, the researcher must devise a measurement that assesses aggressive
behavior without harming other people. In this situation, the researcher might utilize a
simulated task to measure aggressiveness.
Examples
A hypothesis often follows a basic format of "If {this happens} then {this will happen}."
One way to structure your hypothesis is to describe what will happen to the dependent
variable if you make changes to the independent variable.
"If {these changes are made to a certain independent variable}, then we will observe {a
change in a specific dependent variable}."
A few examples:
"Students who eat breakfast will perform better on a math exam than students
who do not eat breakfast."
"Students who experience test anxiety prior to an English exam will get higher
scores than students who do not experience test anxiety."
"Motorists who talk on the phone while driving will be more likely to make errors
on a driving course than those who do not talk on the phone."
A Hypothesis Checklist
Does your hypothesis focus on something that you can actually test?
Does your hypothesis include both an independent and dependent variable?
Can you manipulate the variables?
Can your hypothesis be tested without violating ethical standards?
Once a researcher has formed a testable hypothesis, the next step is to select a research
design and start collecting data. The research method a researcher chooses depends
largely on exactly what they are studying. There are two basic types of research
methods—descriptive research and experimental research.
Descriptive research such as case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys are often
used when it would be impossible or difficult to conduct an experiment. These methods
are best used to describe different aspects of a behavior or psychological phenomenon.
Once a researcher has collected data using descriptive methods, a correlational study can
then be used to look at how the variables are related. This type of research method might
be used to investigate a hypothesis that is difficult to test experimentally.
Even in situations where the hypothesis is unsupported by the research, this does not
mean that the research is without value. Not only does such research help us better
understand how different aspects of the natural world relate to one another, but it also
helps us develop new hypotheses that can then be tested in future research.