DEFINING A HYPOTHESIS

A hypotheses is any assumption/presupposition

that the researcher makes about the probable
direction of the results that might be obtained on
the completion of the research process
Descriptive hypotheses: This is simply a
statement about the magnitude, trend, or
behaviour of a population under study.
Relational hypotheses: These are the typical kind
of hypotheses which state the expected
relationship between two variables.
 CONSTRUCTING HYPOTHESIS
A statistical hypothesis is an assumption about a
population parameter. This assumption may or may not
be true. Hypothesis testing refers to the formal
procedures used by statisticians to accept or reject
statistical hypotheses.
Statistical Hypotheses
The best way to determine whether a statistical
hypothesis is true would be to examine the entire
population. Since that is often impractical, researchers
typically examine a random sample from the population.
If sample data are not consistent with the statistical
hypothesis, the hypothesis is rejected.
 CONTD..

There are two types of statistical hypotheses.

Null hypothesis. The null hypothesis, denoted
by H0, is usually the hypothesis that sample
observations result purely from chance.
Alternative hypothesis. The alternative
hypothesis, denoted by H1 or Ha, is the
hypothesis that sample observations are
influenced by some non-random cause.
EXAMPLE:
For example, suppose we wanted to determine whether a
coin was fair and balanced. A null hypothesis might be that
half the flips would result in Heads and half, in Tails. The
alternative hypothesis might be that the number of Heads
and Tails would be very different. Symbolically, these
hypotheses would be expressed as
H0: P = 0.5
Ha: P 0.5
Suppose we flipped the coin 50 times, resulting in 40 Heads
and 10 Tails. Given this result, we would be inclined to reject
the null hypothesis. We would conclude, based on the
evidence, that the coin was probably not fair and balanced.
 WRITING A HYPOTHESIS
A research hypothesis essentially is a declarative statement of how
you expect the research to turn out. In a way, it is a possible answer
to your research question
It should be brief, note your important variables, and suggest
something you can test or descriptively investigate.
It is typically included in experimental research but is also found in
descriptive research such as factor analyses or survey-based
investigations.
It is not typically included in qualitative research in which the results
are intended to be emergent
Thus In the case of experimental research and quantitative types of
descriptive research, your research question often directly leads to
your hypothesis.
a hypothesis is written for each question that you propose, but are
not essential for study.

5
 FUNCTIONS OF A RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
A hypothesis is important for bringing clarity to the
research problem, it serves the following function:-
1. Formulation provides a study with focus. It tells u what
specific aspects ofa research problem to investigate.
2. It tells u what data to collect & what not thus providing
focus to study.
3. As it provides focus, construction of a hypothesis
enhances objectivity in a study.
4. Helps in formulation of theory
5. Enables to conclude what is true and what is false.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A HYPOTHESIS

It should be simple, specific and conceptually

clear
It should be capable of verification

Should be related to the existing body of

knowledge
It should be operationalsable.

7
 ERRORS IN HYPOTHESIS TESTING
As said ,a hypothesis is an assumption that may prove to
be either correct or incorrect. It is possible to arrive at
an incorrect conclusion about a hypothesis or a variety
of reasons. Incorrect conclusions about athe validity of a
hypothesis may be drawn if:-
1. The study design selected is faulty
2. The sampling procedure adopted is faulty
3. The method of data collection is inaccurate
4. The analysis is wrong
5. The statistical procedures applied are inappropriate
6. The conclusions drawn are incorrect
8
ERRORS IN HYPOTHESIS TESTING
The probability of a Type I error is denoted as
(Greek letter alpha). The probability of a type II
error is (Greek letter beta).

The two probabilities are inversely related.

Decreasing one increases the other, for a fixed
sample size.

9
TWO TYPES OF ERRORS
Type I error
When we reject a true null hypothesis.
P(Type 1 error) = [usually 0.05 or 0.01]
H0 T F
Type II error
When we dont reject a false null Reject I
hypothesis. That is,
P(Type 2 error) = Reject II

The two probabilities are inversely related. Decreasing one

increases the other, for a fixed sample size.
 CONCEPTS IN TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
One-tailed and two-tailed tests: A test is called one-sided (or one-
tailed) only if the null hypothesis gets rejected when a value of the
test statistic falls in one specified tail of the distribution. Further, the
test is called two-sided (or two-tailed) if null hypothesis gets rejected
when a value of the test statistic falls in either one or the other of the
two tails of its sampling distribution.
Type I and type II error: if the hypothesis H0 is rejected when it is
actually true, the researcher is committing what is called a type I
error. The probability of committing a type I error is denoted by alpha
(). This is termed as the level of significance. Similarly, if the null
hypothesis H0 when false is accepted, the researcher is committing
an error called Type II error. The probability of committing a type II
error is denoted by beta (). The expression 1 is called power of
test.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Identify three potential research problems of interest.
1. _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

12
 Write a possible research question for each of the above
research problems.
1.
_______________________________________________________
__________
_______________________________________________________
__________
2.
_______________________________________________________
__________
_______________________________________________________
__________
3.
_______________________________________________________
__________
_______________________________________________________
__________

13
 Write objectives for each of the above research problems.
1.
__________________________________________________
_______________
__________________________________________________
_______________
2.
__________________________________________________
_______________
__________________________________________________
_______________
3.
__________________________________________________
_______________
__________________________________________________
_______________

14
 Write a possible hypothesis for each of the above research questions.
1.
__________________________________________________________
_______
__________________________________________________________
_______
2.
__________________________________________________________
_______
__________________________________________________________
_______
3.
__________________________________________________________
_______
__________________________________________________________
_______

15
 thought for the day: A problem well stated is
a problem half solved. There is probably a
great deal of truth in that, and it is particularly
true for writing good research questions and for
selecting a research design and methods.

16
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD PROPOSAL
Based on your completion of activities in, select the
research problem you are most interested in and conduct a
literature search using the database. Use the following
guide.
Research problem:
__________________________________________________
__
__________________________________________________
_________________
Keywords to search by:
________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_________________

17