Generally, hypothesis transform a general idea into a plan for what to look for, Hypothesis presents the researcher’s expectation about the relationship between two or more variables. (Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen, 2010). Hypothesis is defined as “a logical supposition, a reasonable guess, an educated conjecture. It provides a tentative explanation for a phenomenon under investigation.” (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).

Leedy and Ormrod (2001) explained that hypotheses are not unique to research. Hypotheses are constantly generated in the human mind as we work to understand day-to-day phenomena. By formulating a series of reasonable guesses of cause and effect we are able to understand and explore the events in our surrounding environment.

A hypothesis is important because it guides the research. An investigator may refer to the hypothesis to direct his or her thought process toward the solution of the research problem or subproblems. The hypothesis helps an investigator to collect the right kinds of data needed for the investigation. Hypotheses are also important because they help an investigator to locate information needed to resolve the research problem or subproblems (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).

A hypothesis (from Greek ; plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for an observable phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, – hypotithenai meaning “to put under” or “to suppose.” For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot be satisfactorily explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words “hypothesis” and “theory” are often used synonymously in common and informal usage, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory – although the difference is sometimes more one of degree than of principle. (source from wiki)

A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis. In a related but distinguishable usage, the term hypothesis is used for the antecedent of a proposition; thus in proposition “If P, then Q”, P denotes the hypothesis (or antecedent); Q can be called a consequent. P is the assumption in a (possibly counterfactual) What If question. (source from wiki)

The adjective hypothetical, meaning “having the nature of a hypothesis,” or “being assumed to exist as an immediate consequence of a hypothesis,” can refer to any of these meanings of the term “hypothesis.” (source from wiki)

Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen (2010) had stressed that the principal purposes served by the hypothesis include the following:

1. The hypothesis brings together information to enable the researcher make a tentative statement about how the variables in the study related;
2. Hypotheses stimulate a research endeavor that results in the accumulation of new knowledge. Hypothesis testing research permits investigators to validate or fail to validate theory through an accumulation of data from many studies. In this way, knowledge is extended.
3. The hypothesis provides the investigator with a relational statement that is directly testable in a research study
4. The hypothesis provides direction to the research. The hypothesis posits a specific relationship between variables and thus determines the nature of the data needed to test the proposition.
5. The hypothesis provides a framework for reporting the findings and conclusions of the study. The researcher will find it very convenient to take each hypothesis separately and state the conclusions that are relevant to it.

Source :

1. Ary, D., Jacobs L.C., Sorensen C.K, (2010). Introduction to Research in Education.Eighth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company;
2. Leedy, Paul. D, and Ormrod, Jeanne E. (2001). Practical Research: Planning and Design. (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.