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How to Write Research Hypotheses

Most people think that research hypotheses are some complicated mathematical formulas because of the word “hypothesis” but hypotheses are actually easy to use than you think. In research, a hypothesis is like a smart guess or prediction about what you think will happen in your study and predicts the relationship between two or more variables. It’s what you believe will happen based on your background knowledge and preliminary research. It helps guide your research by stating what you expect to find. For example; If you are studying the impact of school gardening programs on students’ nutrition knowledge, your hypothesis might predict that participating in gardening will improve students’ understanding of nutrition.

In this article, we shall take you through a detailed breakdown to help you understand the research hypothesis:

Types of Hypotheses

There are two main types of hypotheses you might use in your research:

Null Hypothesis (H0): This hypothesis states that there is no effect or relationship between the variables. It serves as a baseline to compare against your alternative hypothesis. For example; “There is no significant difference in nutrition knowledge between students who participate in school gardening programs and those who do not.”
Alternative Hypothesis (H1 or Ha): This hypothesis states that there is an effect or relationship between the variables. It is what you are trying to prove or find evidence for. For example; “Students who participate in school gardening programs will have significantly higher nutrition knowledge compared to those who do not participate.”

Formulating a Hypothesis

To create a strong hypothesis, let’s follow these steps:

Identify the Variables: Determine the independent variable (what you change) and the dependent variable (what you measure). Forexample: Participation in school gardening programs (independent variable) and nutrition knowledge (dependent variable)

Make a Prediction: Based on your understanding of the topic, predict how changes in the independent variable will affect the dependent variable. For example; “Participation in school gardening programs will improve students’ nutrition knowledge.”
Ensure Testability: Make sure your hypothesis is specific and can be tested through experiments or observations. “Students who participate in gardening programs will score higher on a nutrition quiz compared to students who do not participate.”

Examples of Hypotheses

Let’s look at some examples to make things clearer:

Example 1: “Students who engage in school gardening programs will report eating more vegetables at home compared to students who do not participate in these programs.”
- Independent Variable: Engagement in school gardening programs
- Dependent Variable: Frequency of vegetable consumption at home
Example 2: “There will be a positive correlation between the number of hours students spend gardening and their scores on a nutrition knowledge test.”
- Independent Variable: Number of hours spent gardening
- Dependent Variable: Scores on a nutrition knowledge test

Testing the Hypothesis

Once you have your hypothesis, you will conduct your research to test it. This involves collecting and analyzing data to see if your hypothesis is supported or not. Below are the steps to do this:

Data Collection: Gather information through surveys, experiments, or observations.
Analysis: Use statistical methods to determine if the results support your hypothesis.
Conclusion: Decide if your hypothesis is supported or if you need to revise it based on your findings.