research: variables, assumptions, and hypothese

VARIABLES

A VARIABLE IS ANY ENTITY

THAT CAN TAKE ON

DIFFERENT VALUES.

VARIABLES AREN'T ALWAYS

'QUANTITATIVE' OR

NUMERICAL

AN ATTRIBUTE IS A SPECIFIC VALUE ON A VARIABLE.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

SHOW THE EFFECT OF MANIPULATING OR INTRODUCING THE

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

ARE THOSE THAT THE RESEARCHER HAS CONTROL

OVER.

ASSUMPTIONS

AN ASSUMPTION IS A

SELF-EVIDENT TRUTH

WHICH IS BASED UPON A

KNOWN FACT OR

PHENOMENON

EXAMPLES:

1. SPECIFIC QUESTION: HOW QUALIFIED ARE THE

TEACHERS HANDLING SCIENCE?

UNWRITTEN QUESTION: THERE ARE CERTAIN

QUALIFICATIONS THAT ONE SHOULD POSSESS BEFORE HE

CAN TEACH SCIENCE.

2. SPECIFIC QUESTION: HOW ADEQUATE ARE

THE FACILITIES THAT A SCHOOL SHOULD

ACQUIRE BEFORE IT CAN OFFER SCIENCE.

IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION: THERE ARE CERTAIN

REQUIRED FACILITIES THAT A SCHOOL SHOULD

ACQUIRE BEFORE IT CAN OFFER SCIENCE AS A

SUBJECT.

3. SPECIFIC QUESTION: HOW

EFFECTIVE ARE THE METHODS USED

IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE?

IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION: THERE

ARE CERTAIN METHODS THAT ARE

EFFECTIVE IN THE TEACHING OF

SCIENCE.

HYPOTHESES

A HYPOTHESIS IS A

TENTATIVE CONCLUSION OR

ANSWER TO A SPECIFIC

QUESTION RAISED AT THE

BEGINNING OF THE

INVESTIGATION.

A HYPOTHESIS SHOULD BE:

* STATED CLEARLY USING APPROPRIATE

TERMINOLOGY;

 *TESTABLE;

 *A STATEMENT OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN

VARIABLES;

 *LIMITED IN SCOPE (FOCUSED).

PURPOSES,

FUNCTIONS, AND

IMPORTANCE OF

HYPOTHESES OR

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

1. They help the researcher in designing his

study.

2. They serve as bases for determining

assumptions.

3. They serve as bases for determining the

relevance of data.

4. They serve as bases for the explanation or

discussion about the data gathered.

5. They help or guide the researcher in

consolidating his findings and in formulating

his conclusions.

TWO FORMS OF HYPOTHESES

1.Operational formstates that there is a difference between

two phenomena.

2. Null formstates that there is no difference between

the two phenomena.

EXAMPLE:

QUESTION: IS THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE TEACHERS AND THOSE OF THE STUDENTS CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE?

OPERATIONAL HYPOTHESIS: THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE TEACHERS AND THOSE OF THE STUDENTS CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE.

NULL HYPOTHESIS: THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE TEACHERS AND THOSE OF THE STUDENTS CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE

ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS

ALSO KNOWN AS RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS OR EXPERIMENTAL

HYPOTHESIS IS A STATEMENT OF INEQUALITY BETWEEN VARIABLES

PREDICTING THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN CONDITIONS OR THAT

THERE IS AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VARIABLES (BRACE, KEMP &

SNELGAR, 2006).

INSTRUCTIONS

 1

KNOW WHAT YOUR NULL HYPOTHESIS IS BEFOREHAND. FOR EXAMPLE, IN AN EXPERIMENT TESTING THE WHITENING EFFECTS OF A

NEW KIND OF TOOTHPASTE, THE NULL HYPOTHESIS WOULD BE "ON AVERAGE, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN WHITENING EFFECT BETWEEN THE NEW

TOOTHPASTE AND THE CONTROL WHITENING TOOTHPASTE."

2

Gather the facts you already have about the

new toothpaste. For example, you may know

that the toothpaste contains higher levels of a

whitening agent than the control toothpaste,

that the control toothpaste does not perform as

well as hoped and that the new toothpaste has

seemed to be effective in informal testing.

3

Compose your alternative hypothesis,

using the facts you have gathered to make an

informed guess. In this case, it may be, "The

new toothpaste is more effective than the

control toothpaste for whitening teeth, on

average."

4

Check your alternative hypothesis to make

certain it fulfills the requirements of an

experimental hypothesis: Is it a prediction? Is it

testable? If not, rewrite it. For example, if your

hypothesis is "Will the new toothpaste prove

more effective than the control toothpaste?,"

rewrite it as a prediction instead of a question.

GUIDELINES IN THE FORMULATION OF EXPLICIT HYPOTHESES

1. They have to be expressed.(experimental

investigation)

2. Hypotheses are seldom expressed if not entirely

absent.(descriptive and historical investigation)

3. Hypotheses are usually stated in the null form

because testing a null hypothesis is easier than in an

operational form of hypothesis.

4. Hypotheses are formulated from the specific

questions upon which they are based.

GUIDELINES IN THE USE OF BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

1.You cannot assume the value of your study.

2.You cannot assume the reliability of the instruments you propose to use in your research.

3.You cannot assume the validity of basic data.

4.You cannot assume that your population is typical.

5.An assumption is not tested, neither is it defended nor argued.