Hypotheses

Definition of Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative explanation or an answer to a question
about variables, their relationships, and other facts involved in the research.
A research always ends up with a result. However, you are free to
hypothesize; meaning, to infer, propose, or guess about factual things
related to the research. It is an inferential thinking that makes you guess
something based not only on whatever experience or factual knowledge
you have about such thing but also on conclusions that were logically
drawn by other research studies.
Purposes of Hypotheses
Some researchers find hypotheses essential because of the following
reasons:

1.They guide you on which aspect of the research to focus on.

2.They provide opportunities to prove the relationship between
variables.
3.They give the right direction of the research.
4.They outlineyour thoughts on your manner of summarizing the
results and of explaining the conclusions.
5.They push for an empirical study to prove the existenceof
relationship of variables and the effects of independent variable on the
dependent variable.
Categories of Hypotheses

NULL HYPOTHESIS ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS

A null hypothesis symbolized by Ho, Symbolized by Ha, the alternative
which states the absence of relationship hypothesis states the relationship
between the independent and between the independent and the
dependentvariables. It is therefore a
dependent variables and the fact that
statement to disprove the fact that the
the firstaffects the second one.
independent variable (treatment,
(Morgan 2014; Thomas 2013)
intervention, or condition) has an effect
on the dependent variable.
 Types of Hypotheses
THEORY-DRIVEN VS. DATA-
DRIVEN HYPOTHESES
A hypothesis that is based on
existing theory to explain the
relationship of variables and the
effectsof one variable on the other
variablesis theory-driven. But if it
is based on the findings of previous
research studies, it is a data-driven
hypothesis.
1.DIRECTIONAL(ONE-TAILED) VS.
NON-DIRECTIONAL (TWO-TAILED)
HYPOTHESES
ION
Directional hypotheses state the
relationship of two variables as
well as of the relationship of
these variables. Non-directional
hypotheses, on the other hand,
state the relationship of variables
but not on the direction of the
relationship.
DESCRIPTIVE VS.
CAUSAL
HYPOTHESES
A statement specifying the
relationship between two variables due
to the influence of something is a
descriptive hypothesis; due to cause-
effect relationship, it is a causal
hypothesis. True experimental or
quasi-experimental research such as a
correlation study uses causal
hypotheses; non-experimental research
uses descriptive hypotheses.
 Guidelines in Formulating Hypotheses

The craft in hypotheses formulation requires you think of the following pointers (Mc Bride 2013; Lapan 2012):
1. Express your hypotheses in a declarative sentence.
2. Support your hypotheses with ideas based on theories, known facts, previous studies, or your own
experience and wisdom.
3. Establish a logical relationship between the hypotheses and the research problem.
4. Have your hypotheses predict the nature of relationship between or among variables.
5. Ascertain the possibility of having some means of testing, analyzing, and investigating your hypotheses.
6. Avoid wordiness by using clear, exact, or specific language in stating the
hypotheses.
Thank you!
Flowers