ASSIGNMENT ON HYPOTHESIS & TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS

ASSIGNMENT ON HYPOTHESIS &TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS

CONTENT:-

 INTRODUCTION
 MEANING OF HYPOTHESIS 
 DEFINITIONS OF HYPOTHESIS
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS 
TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS
CONCLUSION

HYPOTHESES AND TYPES OF HYPOTHESES

INTRODUCTION:

            Hypothesis is a tentative statement about the solution of the problem. When a researcher observes known facts and takes up a problem for analysis, he first has to start somewhere and this point of start is the hypothesis. In other words, one has to proceed to formulate tentative solutions as soon as the problem to be tackled is finalized. These proposed solutions or explanations constitute the hypothesis which the researcher proceeds to test on the basis of facts already known.

MEANING OF HYPOTHESIS:

a)      Literal Meaning: The word ‘hypothesis’ is derived from two Greek word, namely (Hypo & Thesis)

                               i.      Hypo  – Tentative or subject to the verification

                             ii.      Thesis – Statement about the solution of a problem

Thus the literal meaning of the term hypothesis is a “Tentative statement about the solution of the problem”

b)     Operational Meaning: It consists of two Greek word

                               i.      Hypo – Composition of two or more variables which are to be verified.

                             ii.      Thesis - Position of these variables in the specific frame of reference.

DEFINITIONS OF HYPOTHESIS:

1. “A Hypothesis is a shrewd guess or inference that is formulated and provisionally adopted to explain observed facts or conditions and to guide in further investigation”

-- John W. Best / Carter V. Good.

2. “A Hypothesis is a tentative generalization, the validity of which remains to be tested. In its most elementary stage, the hypothesis may be very hunch, guess, imaginative proposition which becomes the basis for action or investigation”.

     -- George A. Lundberg.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS:

To serve its intended purpose and to be up to the mark in view of its great importance, the hypothesis must possess a number of characteristics.

Ø  A good hypothesis is reasonable i.e. logically consistent.

Ø  A good hypothesis is in agreement with observed facts and established laws.

Ø  A good hypothesis permits the application of deductive reasoning. It should be verifiable and testable. A hypothesis can not be verified until deductions can be made from it which are capable of empirical verifications. It should be capable of being proved or refuted.

Ø  A good hypothesis is stated in as simple and unambiguous terms as possible.

Ø  It should be so designed that its testing will provide an answer to the original problem which forms the primary purpose of the investigation.

Ø  It should be comprehensive enough to accommodate all observed facts.

Ø  It must be stated in final form early in the experiment before any attempt at verification is made.

Ø  A good hypothesis is expert. It is stated in a scientific and research like language and is not an ordinary statement.

TYPES OF HYPOTHESES:

Hypotheses are of three types:

             i.      Research Hypothesis

           ii.      Null Hypothesis

        iii.      Question form Hypothesis

I. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS:

            A Research Hypothesis is usually stated in a declarative form postulating the attributes of a phenomenon (Attributive Hypothesis), the relationship between two variables (Associative Hypothesis) or explaining the cause and effect relationship among the variables (Causal Hypothesis).

a)      Attributive Hypothesis or Descriptive Hypothesis:

They are propositions that typically state the existence size, form or distribution of some variables.

E.g.      1) Corporation schools are understaffed.

            2) There is no living organism in the moon.

            3) Human brain exhibits electrical activity.

            4) The current unemployment rate in Tamil Nadu exceeds 20% of the work force.

            5) Attendance in schools have not increased after the introduction of noon-meal scheme.

            6) Private brand purchasers constitute an identifiable market segment.

            7) There is drop out of students in high schools.

b)     Associative Hypothesis:

Attributive hypotheses talk about an attribute of a variable. In these hypotheses we talk about only one variable. But, often we talk about two or more variables together. Hypotheses, which talk about relationship between variables, are known as associative hypotheses. The relationship may be expressed in two forms:

Ø Association or Correlation

Ø Difference Form

E.g.      1) Families with higher income spend more on recreation (Association Relation).

            2) Girls achieve better than boys in verbal ability tests (Difference Form).

            3) The drop out rate in rural schools in higher than that in urban schools (Difference Form).

            4) I.Q. and achievement are positively related (Association Form).

            5) Directive teachers are more effective than non-directive teachers (Difference Form).

c)      Causal Hypothesis or Explanatory Hypothesis:

These are relational propositions which strongly imply or state the existence of or a change in one variable causes or leads to an effect or another variable. The first variable is typically-called the independent variable and the latter the dependent variable.

E.g.      1) An increase in the ancillary services reduce the drop out rate in schools.

            2) Reducing class size increases student achievement.

            3) Direct method of teaching English will increase the speaking ability of students.

            4) Silent reading increases reading scores.

ii. Null Hypothesis:

            A non-directional hypothesis which states that no significant difference or no relationship exists, is called a null hypothesis.

E.g.      1) There is no significant relationship between intelligence and academic achievement.

            2) Sex has no nearing on scholastic achievement of pupils.

            3) There is no difference in achievement between children taught with the help of A.V.     

                 aids and children taught by the traditional method.

            There is disagreement among researchers concerning the value of null hypothesis. Those who criticize this type of hypothesis argue that a researcher should indicate the direction of the outcomes of his study whenever possible. The null hypothesis is defended by proponents on the basis that the researcher must remain unbiased throughout his research efforts.

iii. Question Form Hypothesis:

            Whenever we are not sure of the relationship existing between the variables (even after going through the related literature), we usually resort to frame our hypothesis in the null form. Yet another way to tackle the problem is to pose the hypothesis in the form of a question.

E.g.      1) Does intelligence affect academic achievement?

2) Is there a significant difference in achievement between children taught with the help   

    of A.V. aids and those by the traditional method?

            However, null hypotheses are more popular and in vogue than question-form hypotheses.

CONCLUSION:

            A hypothesis is put to test for its tentability and for determining its validity. If it is proved, it becomes the solution of the problem, for which it was formulated. If it is not proved, alternate hypothesis or situations would need to be formulated and tested. A hypothesis thus stands somewhere at the midpoint of research; from here one can look back to the problem and also forward to data.

BOOKS REFERRED:

• Research Methodology By C.R. Kothari.
• Research Methodology in Education By Dr. K. Nagarajan, Dr. R. Srinivasan, Dr. (Mrs.) Mary Vijayakumar. Ram publishers, Chennai, 2003.
• Research Methods in Education By Dr. Radha Mohan.
• Research in Education (Ninth Edition) By John W. Best & James V. Kahn.