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Introduction
Some scientific discoveries at times occur through flashes of insight (eg, discovery of the structure of DNA) or by chance events (eg, the antibiotic effects of fungal moulds). Most research is based on a systematic process to gain information about the area of study.
The idea of observing was discussed in the last section on observations.
The section on putting
questions to explain these observations should also be looked at for more information.
In this section it is intended to explain what a hypothesis is
A hypothesis can be considered to be an educated guess which is put forward as an answer to the proposed question. Observations lead to questions and questions are reworded to form a hypothesis.
A hypothesis should be in a statement form that can be tested in an experiment. It includes two variables:
- an independent variable and
- a dependent variable.
Identifying variables is part of this process.
A variable is anything that changes in the course of an investigation.
In constructing a hypothesis one variable at a time is selected and a suggestion is put forward as to how this might influence the event under investigation.
The variable selected is called the Independent variable.
Independent Variables
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Hypothesis Formation:
Introduction
Independent variable
Dependent Variable
So what makes a good hypothesis?
ExamplesRelated
Links:
Observations
Questions Working
Scientifically
Observations
Observation Questions
Hypothesis Formation
Experimental Design
Aspects
Ethics
Types of Research
Data Analysis |
