Pontbot What Is a Hypothesis and How to Formulate It?
A hypothesis (assumption) is a preliminary assumption, a conditional statement that can be refuted or proven.
The hypothesis is the central element of the thesis. You collect your achieved results precisely because of your hypotheses.
For example, my hypothesis:
You either believe the above statement or not, right? A stranger can say anything, and it's the same with research.
If you have statistical data and can support your above statement with it, that's a different situation. (For example, with the following statistical data:)
Of course, these are also tested,
A hypothesis can never be proven 100%, but it can be refuted, for example with other statistical data.
What Makes a Good Hypothesis?
Good hypotheses are specific, measurable, relevant to the thesis topic, and verifiable through research. Bad hypotheses are general, subjective, and cannot be examined with scientific methods.
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Specific | Refers to the Tinder application and the gender distribution of users. |
| Measurable | The gender and proportion of users can be statistically analyzed. |
| Testable | Data can be collected from Tinder's actual user database or with representative samples. |
| Relevant | Tinder is a popular dating app, so the distribution of user demographics is an interesting topic. |
| Clear | Clearly formulates the assumption without being subjective or full of preconceptions. |
Of course, there are several types of hypotheses.
Types of Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis
There is no correlation between the variables. Differences between data are due to chance, there is no significant difference between them.
So there is no correlation between how many users are on Tinder and what the market price of lángos is.
However, there is a correlation if we consider whether there are government restrictions (e.g., curfew -> you can't go to entertainment venues -> you can't socialize -> you download Tinder, etc.).
This is called an alternative hypothesis.
Alternative Hypothesis
Changing the independent variable will affect the dependent variable.
How Many Hypotheses Should I Formulate?
It depends on the university. Some universities require 5, some only 2.
In Summary:
A hypothesis is a refutable, defensible statement that can be validated with an appropriate amount of (official?) data. It is the central element of the thesis, you build your entire thesis around it.