1. What is the definition of a hypothesis? The research statement is a broad statement that leads to a search for literature. The literature, then, leads to the Hypothesis, which should be underlined. The Hypothesis is: (1) a tentative solution to a problem, (2) a statement of the researcher's expectations, (3) an educated guess, and (4) the anticipated consequences of an event.

2. What are the purposes of the hypothesis? The Hypothesis: (1) provides a tentative explanation in a concise statement, (2) brings everything to one testable, relational statement, (3) provides direction to the study (type of sampling and statistical tests that will be used), and (4) provides a framework for reporting the conclusion.

3. When can you dispense with the hypothesis? An Hypothesis is not needed: (1) when gathering initial data in a new field that has never been reviewed (there is not any other knowledge from which to build) and (2) when doing a descriptive research which is not trying to infer something but just describe it. An Hypothesis is needed when doing any kind of inferential study.

4. What are the characteristics of the hypothesis? The hypothesis: (1) has explanatory power (it explains the next step or an inconsistency or something), (2) states expected relationships (should include relational aspects, cause and effect or something), (3) is testable and verifiable (variables must be measurable ("less depressed as measured by ...")), (4) use operational definitions (operations or procedures/instruments necessary to measure the variables), (5) must be consistent with knowledge bases, (6) is simple and concise, and (7) can have sub-hypotheses.

5. What forms can the hypothesis take? The hypothesis can be a: (1) Research hypothesis, (2) null hypothesis, or (3) statistical (alternative) hypothesis.

The Research hypothesis: (1) comes from the literature review and immediately follows it, (2) is based on literature, observation, or theory, (3) is stated in terms of anticipated relationships, and (4) is concise with all terms defined. There are two type s of research hypotheses. The non-directional says, "there is a relationship or difference between two variables." The directional says, "there is a "positive" or "negative" relationship or difference between two variables." In a research hypothesis, the expression "significant" relationship or effect should not be used.

The null hypothesis is what gets tested. The researcher tries to show how unlikely it is that the hypothesis is untrue. The null is tested (the chance that the hypothesis is NOT true). By testing "no differences", the researcher tries to show "differences". Research compares findings with chance expectations. The null assumes negative findings are because of chance, not because of a real difference.

Statistical tests are used to test the probability of the null being TRUE as so unlikely that it must not be true. The legal system is an example of this kind of testing, where the null hypothesis is the innocent until proven guilty scenario. It is so slim that the person is innocent that he or she must be guilty. The statistical alternative test uses the term "significant" in relation to the study's findings.

6. How is the null hypothesis tested? This test is conducted by: (1) stating operational definitions, (2) gathering concrete examples, and (3) comparing observed with predicted and test null with some type of statistic.

Some possible hypotheses based on the Research Analyst (RA) Burnout Computer search are:

The alternative hypothesis will go in the Data Analysis section.

				Tom of Bethany

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