reply to two colleagues by providing constructive feedback on their hypotheses. Use the Learning Resources on hypotheses to inform your feedback (i.e., cite and reference).
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A hypothesis could be considered an educated guess about the answer to the proposed research question. It often begins as a hunch or suspicion (Rashid, 2022) and grows from there. It specifically and completely identifies the proposed research question in unambiguous language and provides clarity and focus for the study as it moves forward (Yegidis, Weinbach & Myers, 2018). A hypothesis helps a researcher determine what data should be collected and from whom. It also clearly identifies the independent and dependent variables in the case of quantitative studies. Hypotheses might predict different types of relationships between the variables, such as an association, a correlation, a causation, or no relationship at all (Yegidis, Weinbach & Myers, 2018). Hypotheses differ from theories in the sense that a hypothesis might add knowledge to help build a theory (Rashid, 2022), which is a group of ideas that are generally considered correct and can be used to understand related phenomena (Dictionary.com, n.d.).
My research question is this: Does lack of ADHD education among teachers and school staff affect the frequency of missed ADHD diagnoses? If I was going to design a quantitative research study to explore this question, my hypothesis would be: School teachers and staff with less ADHD education refer fewer children to school psychologists for ADHD evaluations. The predictive variable in this case is the level of school staff ADHD education. It would be wrong to call this an independent variable because the researcher has no control over the school staff’s education level. The outcome variable would be the number of referrals made. Again, this would be called an outcome variable as opposed to a dependent variable because the researchers did not manipulate any of the variables (Yegidis, Weinbach & Myers, 2018).
The data collected from my study could be plotted on a scattergram. ADHD education level could be represented on the X axis and the number of referrals made could be plotted on the Y axis. If the dots representing data points tend to form a straight line, a linear correlation can be assumed. A positive correlation would show both values increasing together, while a negative correlation would show one value increasing with the other decreasing. A scattergram that did not show any linear correlation might be used to demonstrate that there is no relationship between the variables (Yegidis, Weinbach & Myers, 2018).
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The function of the hypothesis in research is to provide a starting point for an inquiry. It helps the most in directing questions in the right direction to verify any observations. Most importantly, a hypothesis helps make an experiment possible and is typically stated in the present or future tense. A researcher can formalize a point of view about a subject with a solid hypothesis.
My hypothesis is as follows: Beliefs about the causation of homosexuality are influenced by generational identification. My independent variable is the age of a participant, which determines what living generation they are categorized as members of. Age is considered a constant and cannot be manipulated. The characteristics assigned to each living generation, such as Gen Z, can be used by characteristics of their generational makeup, such as love of travel and the importance of work-life balance. This type of balance does influence societal beliefs. This will be considered my dependent variable.
My goal is to utilize a quantitative method to evaluate the Gen Z community’s beliefs about the causation of homosexuality through structured surveys with a sampling of respondents born between 1995 and 2005. I chose these ten years because the participants are considered young adults. My data collection is best understood via multi-factor analysis. The factorial methodology would allow for a set of variables to be structured into groupings (Tavakoi & Wetzel, 2020).
