Differences Between The Research Problem And Hypothesis

Research Problem and Hypothesis Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Research Problem and Hypothesis A research problem is any assertion or assumption that a researcher would want to investigate or challenge (Organista, Chun & Marin, 2013). The fundamental stage of a research process is identifying the research problem. The process of identifying the research problem requires the researcher to identify the variables and develop a hypothesis that relates to the research problem. Having identified a research problem, the researcher should then formulate a research hypothesis, which defines the relationship between one or two variables. The research problem determines the steps required to conduct the research, and for this reason, a good research problem should be well formulated. The research questions are often used when defining a research problem Upon the selection of a research topic and subject, researchers are required to come up with a research question and formulate a hypothesis. The first process involves finding out whether there is evidence from past research that can enable the researcher to make predictions concerning the results of the study. If this is the case, then the researcher will use a hypothesis. However, if the research is more investigative and explanatory in nature, the researcher will need to collect and analyze data arriving at a conclusion, and this will require the development of a research question. A hypothesis is a tentative explanation of the research problem and an educated guess or suggested outcome of the research (Singh, 2007). They are basically clear statements of the possible outcomes of the results of the research. A hypothesis can be of two types, either alternative or null. Alternative hypothesis defines what the hypothesis test is determined to accomplish, whereas, a null hypothesis is a theoretical statement that has been presented because of its use as a basis for an argument or because it is believed to be correct but has not been proved. As compared to the alternative hypothesis, the null hypothesis can have significant effects on the outcome of the research since it relies on speculations. The main difference between the two types of hypothesis is that researchers cannot prove the null hypothesis, but rather they tend to disapprove it (Banerjee, Chitnis, Jadhav, Bhawalkar, & Chaudhury, 2009). On the other hand, researchers try to prove the alternative hypothesis. Formulating a research problem requires the researcher to define the problem. For example, the head of a school committee has requested a researcher to investi...