Biostatistics and

Research Methodology

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Presented by :- P D . GULHANE
 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
• The second important step in the formulation of a research
problem is the construction of hypothesis. The hypothesis is
a tentative solution of a problem. It is a specific, testable
prediction about research study. It is very essential to a
scientist to understand the meaning and nature of
hypothesis. Hypothesis need to be clear, precise and
capable of being tested.
• Hypothesis is a tentative statement about the solution of the
problem. The term hypothesis has been defined in several
ways. A hypothesis is a provisional formulation or possible
solution or tentative explanation or suggested answer to the
problem being faced by the researcher.
 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
• Hypothesis is an important part of scientific research. The importance of
hypothesis is generally recognised more in the studies which aim to make
predictions about some outcome. In experimental research, the scientists are
interested in making predictions about the outcome of the experiment and
hence, the role of hypothesis is most important. In the historical or
descriptive research, the researcher is investigating the history of nation or a
village and thus may not have a basis for making a prediction of results.
• Therefore, a hypothesis may not be required in such fact-finding studies. If a
researcher is tracing the history of an university or making a study about the
results of a coming Loksabha elections, the facts or data he gathers will
prove useful only if he is able to draw generalizations from them.
• Hypothesis is recommended for all major studies to explain observed facts,
conditions or behaviour and to serve as a guide in the research studies.
Working hypothesis or a tentative hypothesis is described as the best guess
or statement derivable from known or available evidence. The amount of
evidence and quality, of it, determine other forms of hypothesis.
Types of Research Hypothesis:
• Null Hypothesis
• Alternative Hypothesis
 Null Hypothesis
• A null hypothesis is a hypothesis that shows there is no statistical
significance between the two variables in the hypothesis. Null
hypothesis is a non-directional hypothesis that proposes no
relationship between two variables. For example, there is no
significant difference in academic performance of college students
who participate in sports and sports non-participating students.
Since, a null hypothesis can be statistically tested then it is called
'statistical hypothesis'.
• They are also called the testing hypothesis by converting them into
null form. The proponents of null hypothesis emphasize that the
researcher must remain unbiased throughout the study. Researcher
may reject the null hypothesis by showing that the outcome
mentioned in the declarative hypothesis does occur. The quantum of
it is such that it cannot be easily dismissed as having occurred by
chance. It is the hypothesis that the researcher tries to disprove.
 Null Hypothesis
• If the hypothesis is that "the consumption of a particular medicine
reduces the chances of heart arrest", the null hypothesis will be
"the consumption of the medicine doesn't reduce the chances of
heart arrest. "If the hypothesis is that, "If random test scores are
collected from men and women, does the score of one group differ
from the other?" a possible null hypothesis will be that the mean
test score of men is the same as that of the women.
Where,
• H0 : µ 1 = µ2
• H0 = Null Hypothesis,
• µ1 = Mean of population 1, and
• µ2 = Mean of population 2,
 Null Hypothesis
• A stronger null hypothesis is that the two samples are drawn from the same
population, such that the variances and shapes of the distributions are also
equal.
• Statistical hypotheses are tested using a four-step process. The first step is
for the analyst to state the two hypotheses so that only one can be right.
The next step is to formulate an analysis plan, which outlines how the data
will be evaluated. The third step is to carry out the plan and physically
analyze the sample data. The fourth step is to analyze the results and either
reject the null hypothesis, or claim that the observed differences are
explainable by chance alone.
• The principle of the null hypothesis is collecting the data and determining
the chances of the collected data in the study of a random sample, proving
that the null hypothesis is true. In situations or studies where the collected
data doesn't complete the expectation of the null hypothesis, it is
concluded that the data doesn't provide sufficient or reliable pieces of
evidence to support the null hypothesis and thus, it is rejected.
 Alternative Hypothesis
• Alternative hypothesis defines there is a statistically important
relationship between two variables. The alternative or experimental
hypothesis reflects that there will be an observed effect for our
experiment. It is contradictory to the null hypothesis and denoted by
Ha or H1 In many cases, the alternate hypothesis will just be the
opposite of the null hypothesis.
• For example, the null hypothesis might be "There was no change in
the water level this spring," and the alternative hypothesis would be
"There was a change in the water level this spring". The alternative
hypothesis is the hypothesis that is to be proved that indicates that
the results of a study are significant and that the sample observation
is not results just from chance but from some non-random cause. It
is a hypothesis that the researcher tries to prove.
 Alternative Hypothesis
• Basically, there are three types of the alternative hypothesis:
(a) Left-Tailed: Here, it is expected that the sample proportion (µ 1) is less than a
specified value which is denoted by µ2, such that;
• H0 : µ 1 < µ 2

(b) Right-Tailed: It represents that the sample proportion (Π) is greater than some
value, denoted by Π0.

(c) Two-Tailed: According to this hypothesis, the sample proportion (denoted by Π)

is not equal to a specific value which is represented by Π 0.
H0 : µ 1 ≠ µ 2
The null hypothesis for all the three alternative hypotheses, would be
H1 : µ1 = µ2.
If the null hypothesis is rejected, then we accept the alternative hypothesis. If
the null hypothesis is not rejected, then we do not accept the alternative hypothesis.
The difference between null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis is given in Table.
An alternative hypothesis provides the researchers with some specific
restatements and clarifications of the research problem. The alternative hypothesis is
important as they prove that a relationship exists between two variables selected and
that the results of the study conducted are relevant and significant.
 Hypothesis Testing
• Hypothesis testing is a process of deciding statistically
whether the findings of a research show chance or real
effects at a given level of probability.
• Hypothesis testing is depending on probability theory and
sampling. It consists of stating the hypothesis (null or
alternative), construction of data gathering tools, collection
of data, statistical analysis and drawing inferences from the
results.
• Research in which the independent variable is manipulated
is called 'experimental hypothesis-testing research' and a
research in which an independent variable is not
manipulated is called 'non-experimental hypothesis testing
research'. Some of important concepts in the context of
testing of hypothesis are as follows:
Null Hypothesis and Alternative Hypothesis:
If two methods are compared about its superiority
and proceed on the assumption that both methods are
equally good, then this assumption is called as null
hypothesis (Ho). It may conclude that method A is
superior than method B then it is called as alternative
hypothesis (Ha). Both hypothesis are chosen before the
sample is drawn. Generally, in hypothesis testing,
researcher can proceed on the basis of null hypothesis,
keeping the alternative hypothesis in view. Researcher
can assign the probabilities to different possible sample
results if the null hypothesis is true, but this cannot be
done if proceed with the alternative hypothesis. Hence,
the use of null hypothesis is quite frequent.
The Level of Significance:
This is the essential concepts of hypothesis testing and is
always considered in percentages (normally 5%). Significance
level is the maximum values of the probability of rejecting a null
hypothesis when it is true. It is usually determined in advance
before testing the hypothesis. For example, if you assume the
significance level to be 5%, it means that the researcher is ready
to take 5% risk to reject the null hypothesis when it happens to
be true.
P-Value:
The p-value is the level of marginal significance within a
statistical hypothesis test representing the probability of the
occurrence of a given event. The p-value is used as an alternative
to rejection points to provide the smallest level of significance at
which the null hypothesis would be rejected. A p-value is used in
hypothesis testing to help you support or reject the null
Decision Rule or Test of Hypothesis:
Researcher can design a rule which is known as
decision rule according to which it may accept Ho
(reject Ha) or reject Ho (accept Ha). Researcher must
decide the number of items to be tested and the
criterion for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis.
For example, if five items are tested in the lot and
plan the decision that null hypothesis will be
accepted only if out of those five items, either none
is defective or only 1 is defective; otherwise
alternative hypothesis will be accepted.
Two-tailed and One-tailed Test:
In the context of hypothesis testing, two tailed tests
and one-tailed tests are important and must be clearly
understood by the researcher. A two tailed test rejects the
null hypothesis if the sample mean is either more or less
than the hypothesized value of the mean of the
population. Test is appropriate when the null hypothesis is
some specific value and the alternative hypothesis is a
value not equal to the specified value of null hypothesis.
In a two-tailed curve, there are two rejection regions also
called critical regions. When the population means is
either lower or higher than some hypothesized value, the
one tailed test is considered to be appropriate. If the
rejection area is only on the left tail of the curve, then this