You’ll need to come up with a research question or a hypothesis to guide your next research project. But what is a hypothesis in the first place? What is the perfect definition for a research question? And, what’s the difference between the two?
In this guide to research questions vs hypothesis, we’ll look at the definition of each component and the difference between the two.
We’ll also look at when a research question and a hypothesis may be useful and provide you with some tips that you can use to come up with hypothesis and research questions that will suit your research topic.
Let’s get to it.
What’s a Research Question?
We define a research question as the exact question you want to answer on a given topic or research project. Good research questions should be clear and easy to understand, allow for the collection of necessary data, and be specific and relevant to your field of study.
Research questions are part of heuristic research methods, where researchers use personal experiences and observations to understand a research subject. By using such approaches to explore the question, you should be able to provide an analytical justification of why and how you should respond to the question.
While it’s common for researchers to focus on one question at a time, more complex topics may require two or more questions to cover in-depth.
When is a Research Question Useful?
A research question may be useful when and if:
Perhaps the biggest drawback with research questions is that they tend to researchers in a position to “fish expectations” or excessively manipulate their findings.
Again, research questions sometimes tend to be less specific, and the reason is that there often no sufficient previous research on the questions.
What’s a Hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a statement you can approve or disapprove. You develop a hypothesis from a research question by changing the question into a statement.
Primarily applied in deductive research, it involves the use of scientific, mathematical, and sociological findings to agree to or write off an assumption.
Researchers use the null approach for statements they can disapprove. They take a hypothesis and add a “not” to it to make it a working null hypothesis.
A null hypothesis is quite common in scientific methods. In this case, you have to formulate a hypothesis, and then conduct an investigation to disapprove the statement.
If you can disapprove the statement, you develop another hypothesis and then repeat the process until you can’t disapprove the statement.
In other words, if a hypothesis is true, then it must have been repeatedly tested and verified.
The consensus among researchers is that, like research questions, a hypothesis should not only be clear and easy to understand but also have a definite focus, answerable, and relevant to your field of study.
When is a Hypothesis Useful?
A hypothesis may be useful when or if:
The drawback to hypothesis as a scientific method is that it can hinder flexibility, or possibly blind a researcher not to see unanticipated results.
Research Question vs Hypothesis: Which One Should Come First
Researchers use scientific methods to hone on different theories.
So if the purpose of the research project were to analyze a concept, a scientific method would be necessary.
Such a case requires coming up with a research question first, followed by a scientific method.
Since a hypothesis is part of a research method, it will come after the research question.
Research Question vs Hypothesis: What’s the Difference?
The following are the differences between a research question and a hypothesis.
We look at the differences in purpose and structure, writing, as well as conclusion.
Research Question | Hypothesis | |
|---|---|---|
Structure | You write in the question form. Make sure the question is relevant to your field of study. Plus, it should be specific and answerable. | You write a hypothesis in a statement form. Take the research question and re-write into a statement to make it a hypothesis. Remember, a hypothesis is preceded by the phrase “I predict that …” |
Writing | A research question won’t demand too much information or formal preparation. However, you need to pay close attention to the structure and focus of the project. | Before you come up with a hypothesis, you first need to do your research to find out what other scientists have already discovered on the subject. |
Writing the Conclusion | If you use a research question for your topic, write the overall answer to the question. Then, conclude with the findings of the research. | When it comes to writing a conclusion for a hypothesis, you should explain whether the hypothesis was correct or incorrect. Then, follow this with your findings of the research. |
Research Questions vs Hypothesis: Some Useful Advice
As much as there are differences between hypothesis and research questions, you have to state either one in the introduction and then repeat the same in the conclusion of your research paper.
Whichever element you opt to use, you should clearly demonstrate that you understand your topic, have achieved the goal of your research project, and not swayed a bit in your research process.
If it helps, start and conclude every chapter of your research project by providing additional information on how you’ve or will address the hypothesis or research question.
You should also include the aims and objectives of coming up with the research question or formulating the hypothesis. Doing so will go a long way to demonstrate that you have a strong focus on the research issue at hand.
Research Questions vs Hypothesis: Conclusion
If you need help with coming up with research questions, formulating a hypothesis, and completing your research paper writing, feel free to talk to us.