Research Questions and Hypotheses From Cone and Foster (2003)

Research Questions Well-worded research questions: 1.In the form of a question 2.Question should suggest a relationship to be examined 3.Question implies the possibility of empirical testing

Hypotheses Hypotheses are declarative sentences that assume a relationship between two or more variables (Kerlinger, 1986) Hypotheses can come from: – 1) previous empirical research – 2) theory – 3) or both

Hypothesis example “There is a positive relationship between education level and preference for liberal causes in professional women.” Characteristics of well-worded hypotheses: 1)Indicate specific relationship to be examined 2)Avoid cluttering up hypotheses with methodological detail 3)Don’t overdo the number of hypotheses. Parsimony is important.