CONTENTS

S.NO TOPIC PAGE NO

1 ABSTRACT AND INTRODUCTION 2

2 MEANING,DIFINITION AND NATURE OF HYPOTHESIS 3

3 IMPORTANCE OF HYPOTHESIS 4

4 FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS 5-6

5 TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS 7

6 HYPTHESIS TESTING AND THEORY 8-9

7 ERRORS IN TESTING HYPTHESIS 10

8 VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESIS 11

9 CONCLUSION 12

10 REFRENCES 13

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 HYPOTHESIS IN RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

ABSTRACT:-

The research process begins and ends with the hypothesis. It is core to the entire procedure and,
therefore, is of the utmost importance. Hypothesis is nothing but the heat of the research. In the
research without hypothesis research cannot be service properly.

Hence, hypothesis is very essential part of the research. Hypothesis is nothing but the good way
by which researcher finds his destination. A hypothesis can be formulated in several ways yet it
always performs the basic function of predicting the final outcome of the investigation. The
hypothesis usually occurs after inductive reasoning, in which the researcher performs a series of
observations in order to form a theory. No doubt, sometime hypothesis may be a negative and
some time it may be appositive. Means hypothesis is merely a hunch of the mind it may be true
or it may be false. A hypothesis ensures the entire research process remains scientific and
reliable. Though hypotheses are essential during the research process, it can produce
complications with regards to probability, significance and errors. A hypothesis is an educational
guess/predication based on observations.

Introduction:

1 Hypothesis is a hunch the researcher or research team has. Basically a hypothesis is

nothing more or less than a hunch to solve your research problem. Researchers tend to prefer a
hypothesis that turns out correct, partly because of the human preference for winning instead of
losing, but also partly because of the philosophy behind the scientific method. Researchers tend
to stick to previous results that have not been falsified. It is however of much greater importance
to ensure that hypothesis is manageable and being able to be tested by any kind of study. A good
hypothesis adds to existing theory by proposing rules, laws, and processes and allows predictions
to new situations. A good hypothesis by adding predictions on the how or why. So use sentences

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that include variations. If one cannot assess the predictions by observation or by experience, the
hypothesis classes as not yet useful, and must wait for others who might come afterward to make
possible the needed observations. For example, a new technology or theory might make the
necessary experiments feasible.

Objectives: There are important following objectives of hypothesis.

 To define meaning and importance of hypothesis.

 To explain the significance of hypothesis in research methodology.
 To discuss the characteristics of good hypothesis
 To highlight the sources of hypothesis..

Meaning

“Hypo” means less than or under, and “thesis” mean s idea or general opinion to be defended by
a person and thus hypothesis means an idea form beforehand which has less value than the
generally formed view. If we have to proceed towards some destination for which we don’t know
the way, we try to form an idea about the direction to proceed and by trial and error, we reach
that goal. The primary idea is called a hypothesis.

Definition and Nature of Hypothesis: –

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According to George A. Lundburg, “A hypothesis is tentative generalization, the validity of
which remains to be tested. In this most elementary stage the hypothesis may be any hunch,
guess, imaginative idea, which becomes the basis for action and investigation” A hypothesis is a
conjectural statement of the relation between two or more variables. It is a tentative answer to the
research question or an educated guess of the research outcome. Hypothesis is always in a
declarative sentence form and they relate either generally or specifically from variable to
variable. The testable proposition is called Hypothesis. It is a proposition, condition or principle
which assured perhaps, without a belief in order to draw out its logical consequences. By this
method, we can test its agreement with facts which are known and may be determined.

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  A proposition stating in a testable form the relationship between two or more
variables,

 A conjectural statement of the relationship between two or more variables.

On this account one can say that, hypothesis is a tentative statement which expresses the nature
of relationship between two or more variables usually in the forms of cause-effect relationship.
Hypothesis constitutes part of the researcher‘s attempt at explaining casual relationships. It is
thus an indispensable tool of the research process which enables one to restrict and streamline
one‘s search for the ultimate solution to the research problem under investigation.

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Importance of the Hypotheses:

The importance of hypotheses is generally recognized more in the studies which aim to make
predictions about some outcome. In experimental research, the researchers is interested in
making predictions about the outcome of the experiment or what the results are expected to show
and therefore the role of hypotheses is considered to be of utmost importance. In the historical or
descriptive research, on the other hand, the researcher is investigating the history of a city or a
nation, the life of a man, the happening of an event, or is seeking facts to determine the status
quo of some situation and thus may not have a basis for making a prediction of results. A
hypothesis, therefore, may not be required in such fact-finding studies. Hillway (1964) too is of
the view that “when fact-finding alone is the aim of the study, a hypothesis may not be required.”
Most historical or descriptive studies, however, involve not only fact-finding but interpretation of
facts to draw generalizations. If a researcher is tracing the history of an educational institution or
making a study about the results of a coming assembly poll, the facts or data he gathers will
prove useful only if he is able to draw generalizations from them. Whenever possible, a
hypothesis is recommended for all major studies to explain observed facts, conditions or
behaviour and to serve as a guide in the research process. The importance of hypotheses may be
summarized as under.
1. Hypotheses facilitate the extension of knowledge in an area. They provide tentative
explanations of facts and phenomena, and can be tested and validated. It sensitizes the

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international (P)Ltd publishers.

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investigator to certain aspects of situations which are relevant from the standpoint of the problem
in hand.
2. Hypotheses provide the researcher with rational statements, consisting of elements expressed
in a logical order of relationships which seek to describe or to explain conditions or events, that
have not yet been confirmed by facts. The hypotheses enable the researcher to relate logically
known facts to intelligent guesses about unknown conditions. It is a guide to the thinking process
and the process of discovery. It is the investigator’s eye – a sort of guiding light in the work of
darkness.
3. Hypotheses provide direction to the research. It defines what is relevant and what is irrelevant.
The hypotheses tell the researcher specifically what he needs to do and find out in his study.
Thus it prevents the review of irrelevant literature and the collection of useless or excess data.
Hypotheses provide a basis for selecting the sample and the research procedures to be used in the
study. The statistical techniques needed in the analysis of data, and the relationships between the
variables to be tested, are also implied by the hypotheses. Furthermore, the hypotheses help the
researcher to delimit his study in scope so that it does not become broad or unwieldy.
4. Hypotheses provide the basis for reporting the conclusions of the study. It serves as a
framework for drawing conclusions. The researcher will find it very convenient to test each
hypothesis separately and state the conclusions that are relevant to each. On the basis of these
conclusions, he can make the research report interesting and meaningful to the reader. It provides
the outline for setting conclusions in a meaningful way. Hypothesis has a very important place in
research although it occupies a very small pace in the body of a thesis. It is almost impossible for
a research worker not to have one or more hypotheses before proceeding with his work.
FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS:
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Hypotheses are guesses or tentative generalizations, but these guesses are not merely accidents.
Collection of factual information alone does not lead to successful formulation of hypotheses.
Hypotheses are the products of considerable speculation and imaginative guess work. They are
based partly on known facts and explanations, and partly conceptual. There are no precise rules
for formulating hypotheses and deducing consequences from them that can be empirically
verified. However, there are certain necessary conditions that are conducive to their formulation.
Some of them are:

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  Richness of background knowledge. A researcher may deduce hypotheses inductively
after making observations of behaviour, noticing trends or probable relationships. For
example, a classroom teacher daily observes student behaviour. On the basis of his
experience and his knowledge of behaviour in a school situation, the teacher may attempt
to relate the behaviour of students to his own, to his teaching methods, to changes in the
school environment, and so on. From these observed relationships, the teacher may
inductively formulate a hypothesis that attempts to explain such relationships. Background
knowledge, however, is essential for perceiving relationships among the variables and to
determine what findings other researchers have reported on the problem under study. New
knowledge, new discoveries, and new inventions should always form continuity with the
already existing corpus of knowledge and, therefore, it becomes all the more essential to be
well versed with the already existing knowledge. Hypotheses may be formulated correctly
by persons who have rich experiences and academic background, but they can never be
formulated by those who have poor background knowledge.
 Versatility of intellect: Hypotheses are also derived through deductive reasoning from a
theory. Such hypotheses are called deductive hypotheses. A researcher may begin a study
by selecting one of the theories in his own area of interest. After selecting the particular
theory, the researcher proceeds to deduce a hypothesis from this theory through symbolic
logic or mathematics. This is possible only when the researcher has a versatile intellect and
can make use of it for restructuring his experiences. Creative imagination is the product of
an adventure, sound attitude and agile intellect. In the hypotheses formulation, the
researcher works on numerous paths. He has to take a consistent effort and develop certain
habits and attitudes. Moreover, the researcher has to saturate himself with all possible
information about the problem and then think liberally at it and proceed further in the
conduct of the study.
 Analogy and other practices. Analogies also lead the researcherto clues that he might find
useful in the formulation of hypotheses and for finding solutions to problems. For example,
suppose a new situation resembles an old situation in regard to a factor X. If the researcher
knows from previous experience that the old situation is related to other factors Y and Z as
well as to X, he reasons that perhaps a new situation is also related to Y and Z. The
researcher, however, should use analogies with caution as they are not fool proof tools for

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 finding solutions to problems. At times, conversations and consultations with colleagues
and expert from different fields are also helpful in formulating important and useful
hypotheses.
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Types of Hypotheses
Hypotheses are classified as working hypotheses, research hypotheses, null hypotheses,
statistical hypotheses, alternative hypotheses and scientific hypotheses.
Working hypothesis is a preliminary assumption of the researcher about the
research topic, particularly when sufficient information is 110t available to establish a
hypothesis, and as a step towards formulating the final research hypothesis. Working
hypotheses are used to design the final research plan, to place the research problem in its right
context and to reduce the research topic to an acceptable size, ror example, in the field of
business administration, a researcher can onnulate a working hypothesis that "assuring bonus
increases the sale of a commodity". Later on, by collecting some preliminary data, he modifies
this hypothesis and takes a research hypothesis that "assuring Irtcrative bonus increases the
sale of a commodity".
Scientific hypothesis contains statement based on or derived from sufficient
theoretical and empirical data.
Alternative hypothesis is a set of two hypotheses (research and II null) which
states the opposite of the null hypothesis, In statistical tests of null hypotheses, acceptance' of Ho
(null hypothesis) means rejection of the alternative hypothesis; and rejection of Ho means
similarly acceptance of the alternative hypothesis.
Research hypothesis is a researcher's proposition about some social fact without
reference to its particular attributes. Researcher believes that it is true and wants that it should be
disproved; Research hypothesis may be derived from theories or may result in developing of
theories.
Null hypothesis is reverse of research hypothesis. It is a hypothesis of no
relationship. Null hypotheses do not exist in reality but are used to test research hypotheses Null
hypothesis is contrary to the positive statement of a working hypothesis. According to null
hypothesis there is no relationship between dependent and independent variable. It is denoted by
‘HO” This is the conventional approach to making a prediction. It involves a statement that says

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there is no relationship between two groups that the researcher compares on a certain variable.
The hypothesis also may state that there is no significant difference when different groups are
compared with respect to a particular variable. For example, “There is no difference in the
academic performance of high school students who participate in extracurricular activities and
those who do not participate in such activities” is a null hypothesis. In many cases, the purpose
of a null hypothesis is to allow the experimental results to contradict the hypothesis and prove
the point that there is a definite relationship
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HYPOTHESIS TESTING AND THEORY
When the purpose of research is to test a research hypothesis, it is termed as hypothesis-testing
research. It can be of the experimental design or of the non-experimental design. Research in
which the independent variable is manipulated is termed ‘experimental hypothesis-testing
research’ and a research in which an independent variable is not manipulated is called ‘non
experimental hypothesis-testing research’.
Null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis:
In the context of statistical analysis, we often talk about null hypothesis and alternative
hypothesis. If we are to compare method A with method B about its superiority and if we
proceed on the assumption that both methods are equally good, then this assumption is termed
as the null hypothesis. As against this, we may think that the method A is superior or the
method B is inferior, we are then stating what is termed as alternative hypothesis. The null
hypothesis is generally symbolized as H0 and the alternative hypothesis as Ha. The null
hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis are chosen before the sample is drawn. Generally, in
hypothesis testing we proceed on the basis of null hypothesis, keeping the alternative
hypothesis in view. Why so? The answer is that on the assumption that null hypothesis is true,
one can assign the probabilities to different possible sample results, but this cannot be done if
we proceed with the alternative hypothesis. Hence the use of null hypothesis (at times also
known as statistical hypothesis) is quite frequent.
a) The level of significance: This is very important concept in the context of hypothesis testing.
It is always some percentage (usually 5%) which should be chosen with great care, thought and
reason. In case we take the significance level at 5 per cent, then this implies that H0 will be
rejected when the sampling result (i.e. observed evidence) has a less than 0.05 probability of

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occurring if H0 is true. In other words, the 5 percent level of significance means that researcher
is willing to take as much as a 5 percent risk of rejecting the null hypothesis when it (H0)
happens to be true. Thus the significance level is the maximum value of the probability of
rejecting H0 when it is true and is usually determined in advance before testing the hypothesis.
b) The criteria for rejecting the null hypothesis may differ.
Sometimes the null hypothesis is rejected only when the quantity of the outcome is so large that
the probability of its having occurred by mere chance is 1 time out of 100. We consider the
probability of its having occurred by chance to be too little and we reject the chance theory of the
null hypothesis and take the occurrence to be due to a genuine tendency. On other occasions, we
may be bolder and reject the null hypothesis even when the quantity of the reported outcome is
likely to occur by chance 5 times out of 100.Statistically the former is known as the rejection of
the null hypothesis at 0.1 level of significance and the latter as the rejection at 0.5 level. It may
be pointed out that if the researcher is able to reject the null hypothesis, he cannot directly uphold
the declarative hypothesis. If an outcome is not held to be due to chance, it does not mean that it
is due to the very cause and effect relationship asserted in the particular declarative statement. It
may be due to something else which the researcher may have failed to control.
c) Decision rule or test of hypothesis: Given a hypothesis H0 and an alternative hypothesis Ha
we make a rule which is known as decision rule according to which we accept H0 (i.e. reject Ha)
or reject H0 (ie. accept Ha). For instance, if H0 is that a certain lot is good (there are very few
defective items in it) against Ha that the lot is not good (there are too many defective items in it),
then we must decide the number of items to be tested and the criterion for accepting or rejecting
the hypothesis. We might test 10 times in the lot and plan our decision saying that if there are
none or only 1 defective item among the 10, we will accept H0 otherwise we will reject H0 (or
accept Ha). This sort of basis is known as decision rule.
d) Two-tailed and One-tailed tests: In the context of hypothesis testing, these two terms are
quite important and must be clearly understood. A two-tailed test rejects the null hypothesis if,
say, the sample mean is significantly higher or lower than the hypothesized value of the mean of
the population. Such a test is appropriate when the null hypothesis is some specified value and
the alternative hypothesis is a value not equal to the specified
value of the null hypothesis. In a two-tailed test, there are two rejection regions, one on each tail
of the curve which can be illustrated as under:

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 If the significance level is 5 per cent and the two-tailed test is to be applied, the
probability of the rejection area will be 0.05 (equally divided on both tails of the curve as 0.025)
and that of the acceptance region will be 0.95 but there are situations when only one-tailed test is
considered appropriate. A one-tailed test would be used when we are to test, say, whether the
population mean is either lower than or higher than some hypothesized value. We should always
remember that accepting H0, on the basis of sample information does not constitute the proof
that H0, is true. We only mean that there is no statistical evidence to reject it
7ERRORS IN TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
Type I and Type II errors: in the context of testing of hypotheses, there are basically two types of
errors we can make. We may reject H0 when H0 is true and we may accept H0 when in fact H0
is not true. The former is known as Type I error and the latter as Type II error. In other words,
Type I error means rejection of hypothesis which should have been accepted and Type II error
means accepting the hypothesis which should have been rejected. Type I error is denoted by
(alpha) known as (alpha) error, also called the level of significance of test; and Type II error is
denoted by ß (beta) known as ß error. In a tabular form the said two errors can be presented as
follows:

The probability of Type I error is usually determined in advance and is understood

as the level of significance of testing the hypothesis. If type I error is fixed at 5 per cent,
it means that there are about 5 chances in 100 that we will reject H0 when H0 is true. We
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can control Type I error just by fixing it at a lower level. For instance, if we fix it at 1 per
cent, we will say that the maximum probability of committing Type I error would only be
0.01. But with a fixed sample size, n, when we try to reduce Type I error, the probability
of committing Type II error increases. Both types of errors cannot be reduced
simultaneously. There is a tradeoff between two types of errors which means that the
probability of making one type of error can only be reduced if we are willing to increase
the probability of making the other type of error. To deal with this trade-off in business
situations, decision-makers decide the appropriate level of Type I error by examining the
costs or penalties attached to both types of errors. If Type I error involves the time and
trouble of reworking a batch of chemicals that should have been accepted, whereas Type
II error means taking a chance that an entire group of users of this chemical compound
will be poisoned, then in such a situation one should prefer a Type I error to a Type II
error. As a result one must set very high level for Type I error in one’s testing technique
of a given hypothesis. Hence, in the testing of hypothesis, one must make all possible
effort to strike an adequate balance between Type I and Type II errors
8Hypothesis and Variables:

A variable is something that changes. It changes according to different factors. Some variables
change easily, like the stock-exchange value, while other variables are almost constant, like the
name of someone. Researchers are often seeking to measure variables. The variable can be a
number, a name, or anything where the value can change. An example of a variable is
temperature. The temperature varies according to other variable and factors. You can measure
different temperature inside and outside. If it is a sunny day, chances are that the temperature
will be higher than if it’s cloudy. Another thing that can make the temperature change is whether
something has been done to manipulate the temperature, like lighting a fire in the chimney.

In research, you typically define variables according to what you’re measuring. The independent
variable is the variable which the researcher would like to measure (the cause), while the
dependent variable is the effect (or assumed effect), dependent on the independent variable.

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These variables are often stated in experimental research, in a hypothesis, e.g. “what is the effect
of personality on helping behavior?”

Conclusion:-

On this account i conclude that, hypothesis is very important in research work. It is key to help to
the researcher to open his innovative idea. In framing a hypothesis, the investigator must not
currently know the outcome of a test or that it remains reasonably under continuing
investigation.

Only in such cases does the experiment, test or study potentially increase the probability of
showing the truth of a hypothesis.

If the researcher already knows the outcome, it counts as a “consequence” and the researcher
should have already considered this while formulating the hypothesis. In 21stcentury it is very
essential that, a hypothesis should be an evolutionary one and there is some specific outcome.
For proper evaluation, the framer of a hypothesis needs to define specifics in operational terms.
A hypothesis requires more work by the researcher in order to either confirm or disprove it. In
due course, a confirmed hypothesis may become part of a theory or occasionally may grow to
become a theory itself.

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 BIBLOGRAPHY

1. Myneni S.R. (Dr.) “Legal Research and Methodology” Allahabad Law agency.

2. Hypothesized by Sadi Carnot, truth demonstrated by James Prescott Joule, proven by

Emmy Noether .

3. MLA HANDBOOK for writers of Research Papers (Seventh Edition), Affiliated East-
West Press Pvt Ltd.

4. Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques by C. R. Kothari, New Age

International (P) Ltd., Publishers, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-110 002, INDIA

5. Fundamental of Research Methodology and Statistics Paperback – 1 Dec 2000,

INTERNET SOURCES

1. Trochim, W. K. (2007). Research method tutorials [Electronic version

2. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/tutorial.htm
3. Vagner, K. W. (2007). Introduction to research methods [Electronic version]
4. http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro.htm

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