What is Hypothesis?

                is a suggested answer to the problem.

                an idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been proved.

Characteristics:

1. It should conjecture upon a relationship between two or more variables
2. It should be stated clearly and unambiguously in the form of a declarative sentence
3. It should be testable; it can be evaluated based on data

Example:

-          I.Q and achievement are positively related

-          Directive teachers are more effective than nondirective teachers

-          The dropout rate is higher for black students than for white students

Observations VS specific and general Hypothesis

-          Observations: the action / process of closely observing or monitoring

-          Specific Hypothesis: take one look around the population or sample even though the researchers have no data

-          General Hypothesis: Represents a generalization and must be tested by making observations, as was the specific hypothesis

Example:

•          Observation: researcher may go into school, look around that the most students are black, infer that the school is located in a poor neighborhood.

•          Specific H: Though the researchers do not know that the neighborhood is poor, they expect that they majority of people living there are poor

•          General H: make or take a sample of neighborhood & reach conclusions on a probability basis, that is the likelihood of hypothesis being true

Where do Hypotheses come from?

                Absolutely, hypotheses come from the problems that the researchers state from

Ex: problems ‘are A and B related?’

Three possible hypotheses

1. Yes, as A increase so does B
2. Yes, as A increase B decrease
3. No, A and B are unrelated

The researcher has two logical process to draw upon in developing a hypothesis

•          These process called deduction and induction

•          Deduction ; a process that goes from the general to the specific (begins with theories and general hypotheses and proceed towards specific hypotheses / anticipated observations)

•          Induction; a process that goes from the specific to the general (begins with data and observations (empirical events) and proceeds toward hypotheses and theories