A research hypothesis is the bedrock of a scientific research study. It allows you to test the thing in which you are interested. It is a detective who tells you whether you should continue doing the research study or quit it right away. Still, many students make mistakes while writing a research hypothesis. They are just unaware of its importance, and besides this, they lack effective writing skills. All these things combine and make students craft bad hypotheses which cannot be tested.
Keeping this in mind, today’s article is all about explaining the common mistakes that you must avoid when writing a research hypothesis. However, before moving on to the mistakes, let’s discuss what a research hypothesis is.
What is a research hypothesis?
A research hypothesis or scientific hypothesis is a statement that explains the expected outcome of the research study. In more simple words, it is what you will predict in your research. Formulating a good hypothesis is the most important task when working on research studies. It is because if you cannot craft it right, you cannot measure the relationship between the variables of your study. A good hypothesis has the following three attributes:
- A scientific hypothesis has specificity. It means it is specific to one research topic.
- Clarity is another attribute of a hypothesis.
- Lastly, the hypothesis must be testable. Non-testable hypotheses are not hypotheses.
So, this is all about research or scientific hypothesis. You can visit dissertation writers UK if you still have any doubts about it in your mind. The writers of this website are going to help you a lot in developing its understanding.
Common mistakes to avoid while writing a hypothesis
When it comes to writing a scientific hypothesis, most students are not good at it. They make common mistakes in the hypothesis and do not know how to write an effective and testable hypothesis. Therefore, a brief description of the common mistakes to avoid is as follows:
1. Not asking the right question
Before you start working on a research study or any investigation study, the first step is to ask a question. This is about the topic which you are going to study. Also, this is the first mistake that students make. They do not know how to ask the right question and formulate the research hypothesis. Therefore, you must avoid doing this and try to frame your question into one of the following questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
2. Using data from unreliable sources
The next common mistake that you must avoid when writing a hypothesis is you must not take data from unreliable sources. It mostly happens during the research phase. During this phase, you are unaware of which sources are reliable and which are unreliable. To formulate a good hypothesis, you must take data from reliable sources like ResearchGate and ScienceDirect. So, you must not use local or unverified data from other websites to formulate the hypothesis.
3. Not answering the question
Before the formulation of the research hypothesis, it is mandatory that you give a preliminary answer to the question that you have asked in the first step. Many students, including you, make the mistake of not answering that question. You do not think about the preliminary answer to your question to defend your position. Hence, it is the 3rd mistake that you need to avoid. However, if you do not know to answer the question, you can get dissertation help UK.
4. Starting with the untestable hypothesis
It is stated above in clear words that the hypothesis must be testable. Still, many students make the mistake of formulating an untestable hypothesis. Initially, they do not know whether it is testable or not. They come to know about it when they reach the testing phase. At that stage, it becomes too late. So, it is recommended that you must not start the research with an untestable hypothesis. Make sure at the early stages of research that the hypothesis is testable.
5. Not refining the hypothesis
Once developed, students do not give a second look at their research hypothesis. They formulated the first hypothesis with quite difficulty. Therefore, they do not even bother to refine it. But it is a very wrong practice because sometimes refining something improves it more. Hence, it is the last mistake to avoid. As a student researcher, you must proofread your hypothesis after it is developed with a fresh pair of eyes.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the above discussed are the 5 common mistakes you need to avoid while writing a research hypothesis. Avoiding these mistakes guarantees success in your research study and leaves you with a specific, clear, and testable hypothesis. Therefore, pay close attention to all the mistakes mentioned above and formulate your hypothesis accordingly.
