A hypotheses is any

assumption/presupposition that the

researcher makes about the probable direction
of the results that might be obtained on the
completion of the research process
Descriptive hypotheses: This is simply a
statement about the magnitude, trend, or
behaviour of a population under study.
Relational hypotheses: These are the
typical kind of hypotheses which state the
expected relationship between two variables.
 A statistical hypothesis is an assumption about
a population parameter. This assumption may or
may not be true. Hypothesis testing refers to
the formal procedures used by statisticians to
accept or reject statistical hypotheses.
Statistical Hypotheses
The best way to determine whether a statistical
hypothesis is true would be to examine the entire
population. Since that is often impractical,
researchers typically examine a random sample
from the population. If sample data are not
consistent with the statistical hypothesis, the
hypothesis is rejected.
 There are two types of statistical hypotheses.
Null hypothesis. The null hypothesis,
denoted by H0, is usually the hypothesis that
sample observations result purely from
chance.
Alternative hypothesis. The alternative
hypothesis, denoted by H1 or Ha, is the
hypothesis that sample observations are
influenced by some non-random cause.
 For example, suppose we wanted to determine
whether a coin was fair and balanced. A null
hypothesis might be that half the flips would result
in Heads and half, in Tails. The alternative
hypothesis might be that the number of Heads and
Tails would be very different. Symbolically, these
hypotheses would be expressed as
H0: P = 0.5
Ha: P 0.5
Suppose we flipped the coin 50 times, resulting in
40 Heads and 10 Tails. Given this result, we would
be inclined to reject the null hypothesis. We would
conclude, based on the evidence, that the coin was
probably not fair and balanced.
 A research hypothesis essentially is a declarative
statement of how you expect the research to turn
out. In a way, it is a possible answer to your research
question
It should be brief, note your important variables, and
suggest something you can test or descriptively investigate.
It is typically included in experimental research but is also
found in descriptive research such as factor analyses or
survey-based investigations.
It is not typically included in qualitative research in which
the results are intended to be emergent
Thus In the case of experimental research and quantitative
types of descriptive research, your research question often
directly leads to your hypothesis.
a hypothesis is written for each question that you propose,
but are not essential for study.

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 A hypothesis is important for bringing clarity to the
research problem, it serves the following function:-
1. Formulation provides a study with focus. It tells u
what specific aspects ofa research problem to
investigate.
2. It tells u what data to collect & what not thus
providing focus to study.
3. As it provides focus, construction of a hypothesis
enhances objectivity in a study.
4. Helps in formulation of theory
5. Enables to conclude what is true and what is false.
 It should be simple, specific and
conceptually clear
It should be capable of verification
Should be related to the existing body
of knowledge
It should be operationalsable.

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 As said ,a hypothesis is an assumption that may
prove to be either correct or incorrect. It is possible to
arrive at an incorrect conclusion about a hypothesis
or a variety of reasons. Incorrect conclusions about
athe validity of a hypothesis may be drawn if:-
1. The study design selected is faulty
2. The sampling procedure adopted is faulty
3. The method of data collection is inaccurate
4. The analysis is wrong
5. The statistical procedures applied are inappropriate
6. The conclusions drawn are incorrect

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 The probability of a Type I error is denoted
as (Greek letter alpha). The probability
of a type II error is (Greek letter beta).

The two probabilities are inversely related.

Decreasing one increases the other, for a
fixed sample size.

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 Type I error
When we reject a true null
hypothesis. P(Type 1 error) = H0
[usually 0.05 or 0.01]
T F
Type II error Reject I
When we dont reject a false null
hypothesis. That is, Reject II
P(Type 2 error) =

The two probabilities are inversely related. Decreasing one

increases the other, for a fixed sample size.
 One-tailed and two-tailed tests: A test is called one-
sided (or one-tailed) only if the null hypothesis gets
rejected when a value of the test statistic falls in one
specified tail of the distribution. Further, the test is called
two-sided (or two-tailed) if null hypothesis gets rejected
when a value of the test statistic falls in either one or the
other of the two tails of its sampling distribution.
Type I and type II error: if the hypothesis H0 is rejected
when it is actually true, the researcher is committing what
is called a type I error. The probability of committing a type
I error is denoted by alpha (). This is termed as the level
of significance. Similarly, if the null hypothesis H 0 when
false is accepted, the researcher is committing an error
called Type II error. The probability of committing a type II
error is denoted by beta (). The expression 1 is called
power of test.
 Identify three potential research problems of interest.
1. _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

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 Write a possible research question for each of the
above research problems.
1.
______________________________________________________
___________
______________________________________________________
___________
2.
______________________________________________________
___________
______________________________________________________
___________
3.
______________________________________________________
___________
______________________________________________________
___________

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 Write objectives for each of the above research
problems.
1.
____________________________________________________
_____________
____________________________________________________
_____________
2.
____________________________________________________
_____________
____________________________________________________
_____________
3.
____________________________________________________
_____________
____________________________________________________
_____________

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 Write a possible hypothesis for each of the above research
questions.
1.
____________________________________________________________
_____
____________________________________________________________
_____
2.
____________________________________________________________
_____
____________________________________________________________
_____
3.
____________________________________________________________
_____
____________________________________________________________
_____

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 thought for the day: A problem well
stated is a problem half solved. There
is probably a great deal of truth in that,
and it is particularly true for writing
good research questions and for
selecting a research design and
methods.

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 Based on your completion of activities in, select
the research problem you are most interested in
and conduct a literature search using the
database. Use the following guide.
Research problem:
__________________________________________________
__
__________________________________________________
_________________
Keywords to search by:
________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_________________

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