hypothesis
A statement of the expected relationship between things being studied, which is intended to explain certain facts or observations. An idea to be tested.
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Public Health (2 ed.)
...hypothesis A conjecture that can be tested and (potentially) refuted. See also null hypothesis . ...
hypothesis n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
... n . A tentative explanation for a phenomenon , subject to criticism by rational argument and refutation by empirical evidence. See also alternative hypothesis , hypothetico-deductive method , null hypothesis . Compare model , theory ( 2 ) . hypotheses pl . [From Greek hypo under + tithenai to...
hypothesis Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine (3 ed.)
... A conjectured statement that implies or states a relationship between two or more variables. A hypothesis is usually formed from facts already known or research already carried out, and is expressed in such a way that it can be tested or appraised as a generalization about a phenomenon. See also experimental hypothesis , Null hypothesis...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Philosophy (3 ed.)
... A proposition put forward as a supposition, rather than asserted. A hypothesis may be put forward for testing or for discussion, possibly as a prelude to acceptance or...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Sociology (4 ed.)
... ( hypothesis testing ) A hypothesis is an untested statement about the relationship (usually of association or causation) between concepts within a given theory . Hypothesis testing involves the testing of a hypothesis in a scientific manner, and hence requires a precise statement of the supposed relationship between the concepts under investigation, and the data which would need to be collected for the testing to take place. Hypothesis testing is perhaps best seen as involving falsificationism . See also deduction...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Geology and Earth Sciences (5 ed.)
... An idea or concept that provides a basis for arguments or explanations which can be tested by experimentation. In inductive or inferential statistics, the hypothesis is usually stated as the converse of the expected results, i.e. as a null hypothesis ( H 0 ). This helps workers to avoid reaching a wrong conclusion, since the original hypothesis H 1 will be accepted only if the experimental data depart significantly from the values predicted by the null hypothesis. Working in this negative way carries the risk of rejecting a valid research hypothesis...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Zoology (5 ed.)
... An idea or concept that can be tested by experimentation. In inductive or inferential statistics, the hypothesis is usually stated as the converse of the expected results, i.e. as a null hypothesis ( H 0 ). This helps workers to avoid reaching a wrong conclusion, since the original hypothesis H 1 will be accepted only if the experimental data depart significantly from the values predicted by the null hypothesis. Working in this negative way carries the risk of rejecting a valid research hypothesis even though it is true (a problem with small data...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Chemical Engineering
...hypothesis A suggested explanation or argument to explain a phenomenon as the basis for either further verification or accepted as fact. It may be a theory or law that has the status of not being incontrovertible or universally true. There are some hypotheses in which there is no doubt such as Avogadro’s hypothesis but for which the label ‘hypothesis’ remains. Compare theory . ...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Media and Communication (3 ed.)
... A provisional explanation of a phenomenon, formally framed as a proposition . It may be debated by rational argument and/or tested empirically. Hypothesis testing requires a precise and testable statement of such a claim or prediction, and the collection of appropriate data against which it can be tested. More loosely, Gregory sees perception as a process of hypothesis-testing. ...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences (4 ed.)
... An idea or concept that can be tested by experimentation. In inductive or inferential statistics the hypothesis is usually stated as the converse of the expected results, i.e. as a null hypothesis ( H 0 ). For example, if a specified feature were being compared in 2 samples, the null hypothesis would be that no difference existed in the populations from which the samples were taken. This helps workers to avoid reaching a wrong conclusion, since the original hypothesis H 1 will be accepted only if the experimental data depart significantly from the...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
... An idea or concept that can be tested by experimentation. In inductive or inferential statistics, the hypothesis is usually stated as the converse of the expected results, i.e. as a null hypothesis ( H 0 ). For example, if a specified feature were being compared in two samples, the null hypothesis would be that no difference existed in the populations from which the samples were taken. This helps workers to avoid reaching a wrong conclusion, since the original hypothesis H 1 will be accepted only if the experimental data depart significantly from...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Business Research Methods
... 1. A tentative set of propositions about the nature of the relationships or differences among variables . To have practical scientific value these must be testable . 2. A testable assumption about the nature of the relationships or differences among variables. See hypothesis testing , ...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Construction, Surveying and Civil Engineering (2 ed.)
... 1. A theory that has not yet been investigated. 2. An assumption that is taken as...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation (3 ed.)
... A statement of the expected relationship between things being studied, which is intended to explain certain facts or observations. An idea to be...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Dentistry (2 ed.)
...hypothesis n. A prediction made to explain certain observations or facts that require to be verified by further...
hypothesis Quick reference
World Encyclopedia
... Assumption or proposal made in order to account for or correlate known facts. Consequences inferred from a hypothesis are put to further inquiry, thus enabling the assumption to be tested in a particular situation. A set of hypotheses, logically connected and leading to the prediction of a wide range of naturally occurring events or states, is called a...
hypothesis Reference library
The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science
... . A hypothesis is a guess, hunch, or supposition taken as a basis for reasoning. The method of hypothesis, one of the major scientific methods, has had a career coincident with, and tangled up in, that of modern science. Rene Descartes brought the method of hypothesis to the fore in his Principles of Philosophy ( 1644 ). He argued that the world presents itself as the face of a clock whose internal workings are hidden. To talk about the workings, we must resort to hypothesis or conjecture. Similarly, while we can observe the reflection and...
hypothesis Reference library
Andrew Belsey
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (2 ed.)
... . A hunch, speculation, or conjecture proposed as a possible solution to a problem, and requiring further investigation of its acceptability by argument or observation and experiment . Hypotheses are indispensable to human thinking, and used by everyone from detectives (Sherlock Holmes) to metaphysicians. They formthe basis of an influential account of scientific method ( hypothetico-deductive method ), which is closely related to the claim, associated with Popper , that scientific theories are empirical hypotheses and remain so, however successful...
hypothesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Human Geography
... A statement about the behaviour of social or biophysical phenomena whose validity can be tested by systematic observation of these phenomena. The term is widely used in the life, earth, and computational sciences, less so in the contemporary social sciences. To qualify as a hypothesis a statement’s validity must be uncertain and able to be tested empirically, although theoretical and mathematic tests may suffice as heuristics en route to real world testing. A hypothesis is thus a conjecture made by scientific researchers on the basis of one or more...
hypothesis ([Ge]) Quick reference
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (3 ed.)
... [Ge] A statement of plausible connections between specific defined elements or variables, put forward as a basis for empirical testing. In archaeology this usually means putting forward a set of ideas or predictions about how the archaeological record should look if a particular model or explanation holds...
