Learning Outcomes Identify the types of hypotheses Identify Characteristics of a good hypothesis Identify the types of hypotheses Formulate a valid hypothesis Decide on the appropriate hypothesis

2 Research is an ORGANIZED and SYSTEMATIC way of FINDING ANSWERS to QUESTIONS.

3 SYSTEMATIC because there is a definite set of procedures and steps which you will follow. There are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get the most accurate results.

4 ORGANIZED in that there is a structure or method in going about doing research. It is a planned procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific scope.

Research question Actual question you ask yourself about the topic

Types of Research Questions 1. Descriptive Questions -- they are asked to find out the frequency, duration, and intensity of an event -- the frequency, duration, intensity, and range of a behavior performed by a subject --Descriptive Questions ask about who, what, when, and where of an event or a behavior The order of language acquisition, the frequency of the occurrence of grammatical elements, the frequency of errors made by first and second language learners 6

2. Correlational Research Questions Correlational questions ask about the degree of relationship between two or more factors What is the relationship between X and Y 7

3. Cause and Effect Questions Cause-effect questions seek to investigate the effect of one variable on another one. What is the effect of X on Y. What is the effect of practice in listening comprehension on Language proficiency? Does participation in effective professional development activities significantly affect teachers’ efficacy beliefs about their ability to engage students? Does participation in effective professional development activities significantly affect teachers’ efficacy beliefs about their ability to implement appropriate teaching strategies? Does participation in effective professional development activities significantly affect teachers’ efficacy beliefs about their ability about their ability to manage students? Does level of proficiency have a significant effect on the students -assessment? Do motivation, anxiety and self- assessment have any significant effect on the students’ self-assessment? 8

Is there a significant difference between …. & …..? (T-test, ANOVA, MANOVA, ANCOVA) What is the relationship between … & …..? ( Person r, Spearman Rho) To what extent can … predict…..? (Linear regression, multiple regression, logistic regression) 9

Characteristics of a good research question 1. Interest of the researcher Different people show interest in different areas, in different subjects within a particular area, and in different topics within a particular subject. Students are recommended to select a topic in which they have genuine interest. 2. Relevance The research question should have either immediate or long-term relevance to the needs of the society. What are the problems of African students in improving their rate of reading in English? In asking a research question, one should give priority to those questions which contribute to solving the problems of the immediate environment of the researcher. 10

3. Manageability It refers to the availability of all sorts of facilities required to complete a research project. Man power, expertise, financial support, time, and equipment. Social and educational limitations should be taken into consideration. In order to limit the required facilities, the research topic should be narrowed down. 4. Narrowing down the topic What is the Effect of teaching on learning? What is the effect of teaching on the students’ achievement? How is a native language acquired? Limit the scope of the question to a specific group. How does an Iranian child acquire Farsi? 11

Narrow down the subject matter of Language. How does an Iranian child acquire the speaking skill in Farsi? Limit to its components such as phonology, morphology, syntax, etc. Is the Audio Lingual method of teaching more effective than the grammar translation method? The question doesn’t clarify for whom, under what circumstances, where, and when one method might be more effective than the other. Is the Audio Lingual method of teaching more effective than the grammar translation method for Iranian students in the First grade of Junior high school? Would the Audio Lingual method lead to a higher achievement of Language abilities than would the Grammar Translation for Iranian students in the First grade of Junior high school? 12

Forming a Hypothesis A hypothesis is a tentative and suggested answer to the research question. “Hypothesis is a formal statement that presents the expected relationship between an independent and dependent variable.”(Creswell, 1994) A hypothesis is a logical supposition, a reasonable guess, an educated conjecture. It provides a tentative explanation for a phenomenon under investigation." (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001). A hypothesis is a kind of generalization about the relationship between two or more factors. What is the relationship between the knowledge of vocabulary and reading comprehension? There is no relationship between the knowledge of vocabulary and reading comprehension ability. 13

Hypothesis vs Theory A theory is a well-established principle that has been developed to explain some aspect of the natural world. A theory arises from repeated observation and testing and incorporates facts, laws, predictions, and tested hypotheses that are widely accepted.theory A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study.hypothesis For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between study habits and test anxiety might have a hypothesis that states, “This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that students with better study habits will suffer less test anxiety.” Unless your study is exploratory in nature, your hypothesis should always explain what you expect to happen during the course of your experiment or research. 14

A Hypothesis must make a prediction must identify at least two variables must be falsifiable. meaning hypotheses must be capable of being refuted based on the results of the study must be formulated in simple, understandable terms In general, a hypothesis needs to be unambiguous, specific, quantifiable, testable and generalizable.

Categorizing Hypotheses 1. Based on their formulation Null Hypotheses and Alternate Hypotheses 2. Based on direction Directional and Non-directional Hypothesis Null hypothesis always predicts that –no differences between the groups being studied (e.g., experimental vs. control group) or –no relationship between the variables being studied By contrast, the alternate hypothesis always predicts that there will be a difference between the groups being studied (or a relationship between the variables being studied)

Different Types of Hypothesis 1. Directional (Alternative) Hypothesis (H1) A directional hypothesis predicts either a positive or a negative relationship between the factors. The researcher predicts a direction, the existence of a relationship between two factors. 2. Null or non-directional hypothesis (H0) It predicts no relationship between the factors under investigation. When no relationship is predicted, it means that the researcher is not sure whether there is or there is not any relationship between the factors under investigation. If the null hypothesis is supported, the researcher can claim that no relationship exists between the factors. If the null hypothesis is rejected, the researcher can conclude that there is a relationship between the factors. 17

What is the criterion for selecting a null or a directional hypothesis? The researcher should carefully study the previous research reports on the topic. Depending on the information obtained from the review of the related literature, the researcher makes a decision to select either a null or an alternative hypothesis. If there is ample evidence in the literature to support the existence of a relationship between the two factors, the researcher may select an alternative hypothesis. If there are discrepancies or contradictions among the findings of different research projects conducted in the past, the selection of a directional hypothesis is not justified Even if the supporting evidence is strong enough to fairly justify the direction of the hypothesis, it is more advisable for the researcher to conduct the project through a null hypothesis. 18

Forming/Developing a Hypothesis Articulating the hypotheses that will be tested is one of the steps in the planning phase of a research study A hypothesis is formulated after –the problem has been stated and –the literature study has been conducted It is formulated when the researcher is totally aware of the theoretical and empirical background to the problem

Hypotheses States clearly the expected relationship between the variables The form is a declarative statement, but it is a tentative statement to be tested in research Implicitly or explicitly, the variables in the research hypothesis are stated in operational definition terms

Problem Definition Clearly state the null and alternate hypotheses. Choose the relevant test and the appropriate probability distribution Choose the critical value Compare test statistic and critical value Reject null Does the test statistic fall in the critical region? Determine the significance level Compute relevant test statistic Determine the degrees of freedom Decide if one-or two-tailed test Do not reject null No Yes Steps in Hypothesis Testing