Assignment : Course Project Task
Research Question and Hypothesis
After reading the feedback on your proposed quantitative research question in M1 Assignment 2, provide your revised quantitative research question. Next, develop a hypothesis for the research question (Include a null and an alternative hypothesis for your question.).
Keep in mind that a hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction. A hypothesis describes in concrete (rather than theoretical) terms what you expect will happen in your study. It should be testable and often mirrors the research question in the way that it is written.
For example, there is a positive correlation between having an alcoholic parent and alcoholism in adulthood.
Once you have clearly stated your research question and hypothesis, discuss the following (in 1-2 pages):
• Why is a null hypothesis required in research? How is the null hypothesis used when drawing conclusions from the collected data?
• What is the relationship of your hypothesis to the identified problem?
• How is your hypothesis feasible?
• How is your hypothesis measurable and testable?
Research Question and Hypothesis
The driver of a primary research question is supposed to be the hypothesis as opposed to data. This means that research questions and hypothesis need to be derived before the study starts.
In research, there is the use of a hypothesis to act as a guide when carrying out the research (Kumar, 2016). A hypothesis can be defined as a particular statement prediction which describes in concreate terms as opposed to theoretical terms what one expects to happen in the study. There are two types of hypothesis namely a null and alternative hypothesis.
A null hypothesis is a hypothesis that a researcher is trying to discredit or disapprove. On the other hand, an alternative hypothesis is one which states that there exists a statistically significant relationship between two variables.
Null hypothesis: Forensic psychologists working in the correctional settings form effective relationships and hence they do not face any challenges when working in this setting.
Alternative hypothesis: Forensic psychologists encounter numerous barriers when it comes to achieving an effective therapeutic relationship in a correctional setting which brings about the challenges that they face. This means that there exists a positive correlation between barriers forensic psychologists face in the correctional setting and the challenges they face when it comes to working in this setting and hence their inability to achieve effective relationships.
A null hypothesis is required in research as it assists in showing that there are no variations existing between the variables that are under research. This means that a null hypothesis is used in testing statistical significance. A null hypothesis is used when drawing conclusion from the collected data and make inferences from it based on a random sample that has been taken from the population.
The hypothesis is related to the identified problem in that from the hypothesis we are able to understand the basis of the problem under research. This hypothesis is feasible because it can be easily tested with data that has been collected from the ground and its feasibility established. This hypothesis is measurable and testable from the information gathered and effectively conducting statistical testing in order to measure its validity.
References
Kumar, R. (2016). Chapter-02 Research Problem, Research questions and Hypothesis. Nursing Research and Statistics, 27-44