Hypotheses part 1

• Hypotheses are stated relationships between or among variables.
• The hypothesis translates the problem and purpose into a clear explanation or prediction of the expected results or outcomes of the study.
• The wording of the hypothesis indicates the study design, through use of phrases such as over time, associations among variables, or intervention effects increase with repeated applications.
• Hypotheses also indicate the appropriate statistical tests for a study and are used or organize the study’s Results section.
• A hypothesis specifies the variables you will measure, identifies the population you will examine, indicates the type of research, and directs the conduct of your study.
• Hypotheses differ from objectives and questions by predicting the outcomes of a study.
• If the theoretical framework is not coherent with the hypothesis, a new framework should be chosen, or a framework newly developed, using the hypothesis as a starting point.
• Types of hypotheses: (1) causal versus associative, (2) simple versus complex, (3) directional versus nondirectional, and (4) null versus research
• Causal hypothesis proposes a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
• The cause in a causal hypothesis is the independent variable; the result or outcome is the dependent variable.
• The independent variable (intervention, treatment, or experimental variable) is manipulated or varied by the researcher to have an effect on the dependent variable.
• The dependent variable (outcome or response variable) in a causal hypothesis is measured to examine the effect created by the independent variable.
• An associative hypothesis presents a non-causative relationship between or among variables.
• In an associative hypothesis, none of the variables are identified as causing any of the other variables; the variables occur or exist together, and as one variable changes so does the other.
• Variables are positively (+) related when they change in the same direction, increase or decrease together, in a study.
• Variables are negatively (−) related when they change in opposite or inverse directions, in a study.
• A simple hypothesis predicts the relationship between only two variables and may be either associative or causal.
• A complex hypothesis predicts the relationship among three or more variables.