Social Research Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Home
Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2012-24, Social Research Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/
This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for additions or amendments.
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Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement of a conjecture to be investigated.
A hypothesis may be vague or but if it is to be scientifically tested it needs to be in a form that is concise and testable. Often, in positivistic social science, this will be in the form of a null hypothesis.
Hypothesis is merely a statement to be tested it is not a theory, indeed a theory may generate many hypotheses to be tested or evaluated.
The adjective, hypothetical, refers to some idea that it not confirmed and has the status of a hypotheses to be tested.
In formal logic a hypothesis is the antecedent of a proposition, for example, "If P, then Q", then P would be the antecedent or hypothesis (Q would be the consequent).
Colorado State University (1993–2013) defines hypothesis as
A tentative explanation based on theory to predict a causal relationship between variables.
Elwell's Glossary of Sociology (undated) defines hypothesis as:
A tentative statement about a given state of affairs that predicts a relationship between the variables, usually put forward as a basis for empirical testing.
See also
Researching the Real World Section 8
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