RESEARCH HYPOTHESES AND PROPOSITIONS

MA student will be able to define research hypotheses 

MA students will have the ability to formualte research objectives 

6.1. What is reseaarch hypothesis ?

WHAT IS A HYPOTHESIS? A hypothesis is, simply put, a prediction of the possible outcomes of a study. For example, here is a research question followed by its restatement in the form of a possible hypothesis: Question: Will students who are taught history by a teacher of the same gender like the subject more than students taught by a teacher of a different gender

Hypothesis: Students taught history by a teacher of the same gender will like the subject more than students taught history by a teacher of a different gender. Here are two more examples of research questions followed by the restatement of each as a possible hypothesis:

 Question: Is rapport with clients of counselors using client-centered therapy different from that of counselors using behavior-modification therapy?

 Hypothesis: Counselors who use a client-centered therapy approach will have a greater rapport with their clients than counselors who use a behavior modification approach. Question: What are the attitudes of general education teachers towards mainstreaming students with learning challenges in their classrooms?

Hypothesis: Teachers in XYZ School District believe that integrating students with learning challenges alongside their typically developing peers will improve their academic skills. or Teachers in XYZ School District believe that integrating students with learning challenges alongside their typically developing peers will lead to stigmatization

6.2. Significant Hypotheses

As we think about possible hypotheses suggested by a research question, we begin to see that some of them are more important than others. What do we mean by important? Simply that some may lead to more useful knowledge. Compare, for example, the following pairs of hypotheses. Which hypothesis in each pair would you say is more important?

Pair 1

a. Second-graders like school less than they like watching television.

b. Second-graders like school less than first-graders but more than third-graders.

Pair 2

 c. Most students with learning challenges prefer being in regular classes rather than in separate classes.

d. Students with learning challenges will have more negative attitudes about themselves if they are placed in separate classes than if they are placed in regular classes.

 Pair 3

a. Counselors who use client-centered therapy procedures get different reactions from counselees than do counselers who use traditional therapy procedures.

b. Counselees who receive client-centered therapy express more satisfaction with the counseling process than do counselees who receive traditional therapy.

In each of the three pairs, we think that the second hypothesis is more important than the first, since in each case (in our judgment) not only is the relationship to be investigated clearer and more specific but also investigation of the hypothesis seems more likely to lead to a greater amount of knowledge. It also seems to us that the information to be obtained will be of more use to people interested in the research question.

6.3. Directional versus Non-directional Hypotheses

 Let us make a distinction between directional and nondirectional hypotheses. A directional hypothesis indicates the specific direction (such as higher, lower, more, or less) that a researcher expects to emerge in a relationship. The particular direction expected is based on what the researcher has found in the literature, in theory, or from personal experience. The second hypothesis in each of the three pairs is a directional hypothesis Sometimes it is difficult to make specific predictions. If a researcher suspects that a relationship exists but has no basis for predicting the direction of the relationship, she cannot make a directional hypothesis. A nondirectional hypothesis does not make a specific prediction about what direction the outcome of a study will take. In nondirectional form, the second hypotheses of the three pairs would be stated as follows:

1. First-, second-, and third-graders will feel differently toward school.

2. There will be a difference between the scores on an attitude measure of students with learning challenges placed in separate classes and such students placed in regular classes.

3. There will be a difference in expression of satisfaction with the counseling process between counselees who receive client-centered therapy and counselees who receive traditional therapy.

A nondirectional hypothesis would predict that he will look one way or the other. A directional hypothesis would predict that he will look in a particular direction (e.g., to his right). Since a directional hypothesis is riskier (because it is less likely to occur), it is more convincing when confirmed.* both directional and nondirectional hypotheses appear in the literature review.

6.4. Hypotheses and Qualitative Research

What is notable about the formation of hypotheses in qualitative research is that they are typically not stated at the beginning of a study, but rather they emerge as a study progresses. Rather than testing hypotheses as in quantitative studies, qualitative researchers are more likely to generate new hypotheses as a result of what they find as they go about their work—as they observe patterns and relationships in the natural setting rather than hypothesizing what such patterns and relationships might be beforehand. Many qualitative researchers do state some of their ideas before they begin a study, but these are usually called propositions rather than hypotheses.1 Propositions differ from hypotheses in that they are not intended to be tested against the data (as in quantitative research) but rather are viewed as flexible tools intended to help guide researchers in their collection and analysis of qualitative data. The reluctance of qualitative researchers to formulate hypotheses at the beginning of a study is based on their conviction that participants and situations often differ widely and must first be understood before any hypotheses can be suggested. Be that as it may, propositions can help qualitative researchers by creating areas of focus or foci for their data collection, thus making the process more manageable.

Propositions can come not only from a range of sources including theoretical and empirical research literature, but also from professional and experiential knowledge The following is an example of a theoretical proposition used by a doctoral student researcher to guide a qualitative study that explored how first-generation college (FGC) students of color successfully negotiate academic and social challenges at elite universities: “This phenomenological study explores the proposition that FGC students of color persist at highly selective four-year institutions by seeking counterspaces or ‘third spaces’ that sustain their motivation to succeed in college.”* After interviewing several participants, the use of Bhabha’s2 sociocultural third space theory turned out to be less applicable than other psychological theories related to identity change. Since propositions are intended as flexible tools to help focus data collection, the researcher was able to discard her first proposition and restate it as one that examined the role of transformational resistance theory3 in college persistence.

In conclusion, a hypothesis is a statement of your assumptions about the prevalence of a phenomenon or about a relationship between two variables that you plan to test within the framework of the study (sees Chapter 6). If you are going to test hypotheses, list them in this section. When formulating a hypothesis you have an obligation to draw conclusions about it in the text of the report. Hypotheses have a particular style of formulation. You must be acquainted with the correct way of wording them. In a study you may have as many hypotheses as you want to test. However, it is not essential to have a hypothesis in order to undertake a study – you can conduct a perfectly satisfactory study without formulating a hypothesis.

r   Example A

 

H1 = In most cases there will be a change in husband/wife roles after immigration.

H2 = In a majority of cases there will be a change in parents’ expectations of their children.

Hi = etc.

r  Example B

 

H1 = Most people become foster parents because of their love of children.

H2 = A majority of foster parents would like to be trained to care for foster children.

Hi = etc.

 

r  Example C

H1 = A student’s self-esteem and academic achievement at school are positively correlated.

H2 = The greater the parental involvement in a student’s studies, the higher the academic

achievement.

H3 = A student’s attitude towards teachers is positively correlated with his/her academic

achievement in that subject.

Hi = etc.

r  Example D

Hypotheses are not constructed in qualitative research.