How To Write An A-Grade Research Hypothesis ( Examples & Templates)

In this video, we are going to explain what  a hypothesis is in the context of a typical dissertation, thesis or research paper. A  hypothesis in this context is also sometimes called a research hypothesis or scientific  hypothesis. So do not worry if you have encountered slightly different terminology.

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So what exactly is a hypothesis? Well, let us  start with the general definition of hypothesis before we get more granular and explore research  hypothesis specifically. According to the Cambridge dictionary, a hypothesis is an idea  or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been  proved.

In other words, a hypothesis is a statement that proposes an explanation for  how or why something works or the relationship between two or more things based on existing  knowledge or some reasonable assumptions. For example, a hypothesis could look something  like this. Sleep impacts academic performance.

This statement predicts that academic performance  will be influenced by the amount and or quality of sleep a student engages in. Sounds reasonable,  right? It is based on reasonable assumptions underpinned by what we currently know about  sleep and health from the existing literature.

So loosely speaking we could call it a hypothesis at  least by the dictionary definition. Unfortunately, however that is not quite sophisticated  enough to describe a research hypothesis. In the world of academic research, a statement  needs a few more criteria to constitute a true research hypothesis.

In particular, a  hypothesis statement needs to be clear, specific and testable. Let us take a look at  each of these criteria. Number one specificity and clarity.

A good research hypothesis needs to  be extremely clear and articulate about both what is being assessed or who or what variables are  involved and the expected outcome. For example a difference between groups or a relationship  between variables etcetera. Let us stick with our sleepy students example and look at  how this statement could be more specific and clear.

Hypothesis, students who sleep at  least eight hours per night will on average achieve higher grades in standardised tests than  students who sleep less than eight hours a night. As you can see the statement is very specific as  it identifies the variables involved sleep hours and test grades. The parties involved, two groups  of students as well as the predicted relationship type a positive relationship.

There is no  ambiguity or uncertainty about who or what is involved in the statement and the expected outcome  is clear. Contrast that to the original hypothesis we looked at sleep impacts academic performance  and you can see the difference. Sleep and academic performance are both comparatively vague and there  is no indication of what the expected relationship direction is more sleep or less sleep.

So as you  can see specificity and clarity are key. Right, let us look at the next requirement. Number two,  testability.

A statement must be testable to qualify as a research hypothesis. If it is not  testable it is not a hypothesis simple as that. Testability means that you must be able to  collect observable data in a scientifically, rigorous fashion to assess whether it supports  the hypothesis or not.

In other words, there needs to be a way to prove or disprove the  statement. For example, considering the previous hypothesis we could test this hypothesis by  undertaking a quantitative study involving two groups of students one that gets eight or  more hours of sleep per night for a fixed period and one that gets less. We could then compare  the standardised test results for both groups to see if there is a statistically significant  difference.

In other words, this hypothesis is very testable. Again if you compare this to the  original hypothesis we looked at sleep impacts academic performance you can see that it would be  quite difficult to test that statement primarily because it is not specific enough. Simply put  if you cannot test it, it is not a hypothesis.

All right let us quickly recap. A research  hypothesis also sometimes called a scientific hypothesis is a statement about an expected  relationship between variables or explanation of an occurrence. To qualify as a research  hypothesis the statement needs to be very clear, specific and testable.

So when you write  up the hypothesis for your dissertation or thesis make sure that your statements meet  these criteria. If you do you will not only have rock-solid hypothesis but you will also ensure a  clear focus for your entire research project. One more thing you may have also heard the terms null  hypothesis, alternative hypothesis or H0 thrown around.

At a simple level, the null hypothesis is  the counterproposal to the original hypothesis. For example, if the hypothesis predicts that  there is a relationship between two variables, for example, sleep and academic performance the  null hypothesis would predict that there is no relationship between those variables. At a more  technical level, the null hypothesis proposes that no statistical significance exists in a set of  given observations and that any differences are due to chance alone.

If that sounds like gibberish  to you do not stress you can check out our video explaining quant analysis basics where we  unpack the lingo, link in the description. If you enjoyed the video please hit the like  button and leave a comment. For more videos like this check out the Grad Coach channel and  subscribe for more plain language actionable research tips and advice every week.

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