Once you have developed a clear and focused research question or set of research questions, you’ll be ready to conduct further research, a literature review, on the topic to help you make an educated guess about the answer to your question(s). This educated guess is called a hypothesis.
In research, there are two types of hypotheses: null and alternative. They work as a complementary pair, each stating that the other is wrong.
Examples:
Null Hypothesis: H0: There is no difference in the salary of factory workers based on gender.
Alternative Hypothesis: Ha: Male factory workers have a higher salary than female factory workers.
Null Hypothesis: H0: There is no relationship between height and shoe size.
Alternative Hypothesis: Ha: There is a positive relationship between height and shoe size.
Null Hypothesis: H0: Experience on the job has no impact on the quality of a brick mason’s work.
Alternative Hypothesis: Ha: The quality of a brick mason’s work is influenced by on-the-job experience.
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