research: variables, assumptions, and hypothese
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VARIABLES
A VARIABLE IS ANY ENTITY
THAT CAN TAKE ON
DIFFERENT VALUES.
VARIABLES AREN'T ALWAYS
'QUANTITATIVE' OR
NUMERICAL
AN ATTRIBUTE IS A SPECIFIC VALUE ON A VARIABLE.
DEPENDENT VARIABLES
SHOW THE EFFECT OF MANIPULATING OR INTRODUCING THE
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
ARE THOSE THAT THE RESEARCHER HAS CONTROL
OVER.
ASSUMPTIONS
AN ASSUMPTION IS A
SELF-EVIDENT TRUTH
WHICH IS BASED UPON A
KNOWN FACT OR
PHENOMENON
EXAMPLES:
1. SPECIFIC QUESTION: HOW QUALIFIED ARE THE
TEACHERS HANDLING SCIENCE?
UNWRITTEN QUESTION: THERE ARE CERTAIN
QUALIFICATIONS THAT ONE SHOULD POSSESS BEFORE HE
CAN TEACH SCIENCE.
2. SPECIFIC QUESTION: HOW ADEQUATE ARE
THE FACILITIES THAT A SCHOOL SHOULD
ACQUIRE BEFORE IT CAN OFFER SCIENCE.
IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION: THERE ARE CERTAIN
REQUIRED FACILITIES THAT A SCHOOL SHOULD
ACQUIRE BEFORE IT CAN OFFER SCIENCE AS A
SUBJECT.
3. SPECIFIC QUESTION: HOW
EFFECTIVE ARE THE METHODS USED
IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE?
IMPLICIT ASSUMPTION: THERE
ARE CERTAIN METHODS THAT ARE
EFFECTIVE IN THE TEACHING OF
SCIENCE.
HYPOTHESES
A HYPOTHESIS IS A
TENTATIVE CONCLUSION OR
ANSWER TO A SPECIFIC
QUESTION RAISED AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE
INVESTIGATION.
A HYPOTHESIS SHOULD BE:
* STATED CLEARLY USING APPROPRIATE
TERMINOLOGY;
*TESTABLE;
*A STATEMENT OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
VARIABLES;
*LIMITED IN SCOPE (FOCUSED).
PURPOSES,
FUNCTIONS, AND
IMPORTANCE OF
HYPOTHESES OR
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
1. They help the researcher in designing his
study.
2. They serve as bases for determining
assumptions.
3. They serve as bases for determining the
relevance of data.
4. They serve as bases for the explanation or
discussion about the data gathered.
5. They help or guide the researcher in
consolidating his findings and in formulating
his conclusions.
TWO FORMS OF HYPOTHESES
1.Operational formstates that there is a difference between
two phenomena.
2. Null formstates that there is no difference between
the two phenomena.
EXAMPLE:
QUESTION: IS THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE TEACHERS AND THOSE OF THE STUDENTS CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE?
OPERATIONAL HYPOTHESIS: THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE TEACHERS AND THOSE OF THE STUDENTS CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE.
NULL HYPOTHESIS: THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE TEACHERS AND THOSE OF THE STUDENTS CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE
ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS
ALSO KNOWN AS RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS OR EXPERIMENTAL
HYPOTHESIS IS A STATEMENT OF INEQUALITY BETWEEN VARIABLES
PREDICTING THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN CONDITIONS OR THAT
THERE IS AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VARIABLES (BRACE, KEMP &
SNELGAR, 2006).
INSTRUCTIONS
1
KNOW WHAT YOUR NULL HYPOTHESIS IS BEFOREHAND. FOR EXAMPLE, IN AN EXPERIMENT TESTING THE WHITENING EFFECTS OF A
NEW KIND OF TOOTHPASTE, THE NULL HYPOTHESIS WOULD BE "ON AVERAGE, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN WHITENING EFFECT BETWEEN THE NEW
TOOTHPASTE AND THE CONTROL WHITENING TOOTHPASTE."
2
Gather the facts you already have about the
new toothpaste. For example, you may know
that the toothpaste contains higher levels of a
whitening agent than the control toothpaste,
that the control toothpaste does not perform as
well as hoped and that the new toothpaste has
seemed to be effective in informal testing.
3
Compose your alternative hypothesis,
using the facts you have gathered to make an
informed guess. In this case, it may be, "The
new toothpaste is more effective than the
control toothpaste for whitening teeth, on
average."
4
Check your alternative hypothesis to make
certain it fulfills the requirements of an
experimental hypothesis: Is it a prediction? Is it
testable? If not, rewrite it. For example, if your
hypothesis is "Will the new toothpaste prove
more effective than the control toothpaste?,"
rewrite it as a prediction instead of a question.
GUIDELINES IN THE FORMULATION OF EXPLICIT HYPOTHESES
1. They have to be expressed.(experimental
investigation)
2. Hypotheses are seldom expressed if not entirely
absent.(descriptive and historical investigation)
3. Hypotheses are usually stated in the null form
because testing a null hypothesis is easier than in an
operational form of hypothesis.
4. Hypotheses are formulated from the specific
questions upon which they are based.
GUIDELINES IN THE USE OF BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
1.You cannot assume the value of your study.
2.You cannot assume the reliability of the instruments you propose to use in your research.
3.You cannot assume the validity of basic data.
4.You cannot assume that your population is typical.
5.An assumption is not tested, neither is it defended nor argued.