Generating Hypotheses

People often think of data collection as the most important part of research, and in some ways that is correct. However, the data one chooses to collect is dependent on the hypotheses one chooses to study. Generating good hypotheses is the difference between studying things of little consequence and studying things of great importance.

In this lab exercise, you will practice generating hypotheses in an increasingly more rigorous manner. Remember that hypotheses are tentative statements that will be evaluated with specific research studies.

Brainstorming Hypotheses

The first skill critical in creating hypotheses is to be creative, to recognize interesting things to study, and to state those research questions in a clear, testable form. For the following areas of research, generate some research questions based on your casual knowledge of these topics and/or your educated guesses about what might be going on.

Assume that you have always been interested in how some individuals are able to remember people's names so much more effectively than other individuals. Generate a series of hypotheses that could look at either innate differences that might be responsible, learnable skills, or both.
On average, high school females tend to be better than high school males at verbal skills and worse than high school males at mathematical skills. Generate hypotheses that could be studied to provide insights into what might be behind these differences.
Some people tend to eat much more than other people, which sometimes, but not always, results in differences in weight. Consider the factors that contribute to appetite, eating, control of eating, and weight gain, and then generate as many hypotheses as you can regarding these variables and their relationships.

Integrating the Research Literature

Most of the ideas that you generated above have probably already been generated and tested. Testing a hypothesis that has already been tested would be a waste of time and effort. Therefore, your next step is to search the research literature to find out what has been done already, how researchers have measured the variables of interest, and what is already known. This wealth of information may seem overwhelming at first, but the more you read, the more insights you will have into the processes. There is a tutorial on library research included on this website to help you refine those skills.

Developing Your Hypothesis

Take your initial ideas from the brainstorming part of this exercise, integrate them with what you have learned about the research already conducted on the hypothesis, and then develop one or more research hypotheses that would add something new to the understanding of the phenomenon. This last step is by far the most challenging, yet it is also one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of doing research.