The starting point in designing research is to work out a research question (s) or a research hypothesis. A research question refers to what are the research methods that should lead to creating a successful outcome and conclusions. It can be made more focused by adding a specific environment like a Meta-analysis of literature, examining a diverse group of individuals as to age and gender, or a specific group as cases of posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans. The category can be narrowed as examining anxiety in veterans during a named period of time or returning from a specific combat area. A research hypothesis, on the other hand, is a set of submethods fitting in a multiview frame supplemented by reasoning methods that should allow a successful study design (Muller, Pp. 1-8). Both research question and hypothesis should be of interest to the targeted audience, relevant to recent events, or concerns. Framing them as a paradox stimulates the audience, in review analysis research, or research on a non-timely problem, research questions should take an individually characteristic approach and fill in a missing piece. It is always a characteristic of a good research hypothesis to be clear, with limited variables, and should be researchable by looking at the researcher’s limits before deciding the hypothesis (Institute of International Studies, Pp. 1-3).
Sharma and Battina (Pp. 3-28) defined a research hypothesis as a provisional cautious explanation that answers a set of facts and can be tested by added studies. Based on this definition, the research hypothesis needs to be planned and created before the data collection stage and therefore, before the interpretation phase of the research. Thus, a well-framed hypothesis points to the researcher is well in the hold of the area of research. Further, a well-structured hypothesis directs the way of data collection and research interpretation. A directional hypothesis is an alternative hypothesis (a statement suggesting a possible outcome expected by the researcher). The directional hypothesis identifies in what direction an expected finding will go usually to examine the relationship between variables (not comparing) as when a hypothesis says, veterans with behavioral, and cognitive disturbances are more prone to posttraumatic stress disorder. A nondirectional alternative hypothesis is the one where no direction of an expected finding is identified. An example is to say there is no difference in anxiety and avoidance scores of veterans of previous behavioral problems or those without a previous history. These types of the alternative hypothesis should be recognized from the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is a statement there is no definite relationship between variables X, and Y. The final conclusion of the research study will be either to accept or reject the null hypothesis in favor of an alternative hypothesis (directional or non-directional) (Sharma and Battina, Pp. 3-28).
Works Cited
Institute of International Studies. “The research question.” Online Dissertation Proposal Workshop. University of California, Berkeley. 2001. Regents of the University of California. 2008. Web.
Muller, Gerrit. “Research Question and hypothesis.” V. 4.5. The Gaudi project. 2008. Embedded Systems Institute. Web.
Sharma, Meenakshi, and Battina, Subhadha. “Developing Hypothesis and Questions.” 2002. Arizona State University. 2008. Web.