Correct Answer - Option 3 : Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an assumption or proposition whose testability is to be tested based on the compatibility of its implications with empirical evidence with previous knowledge. It is also a declarative statement in which the investigator makes a prediction or a conjecture about the outcome of the relationship. The conjecture or the prediction is not simply an "educated guess". Rather, it is typically based on past research, which investigators gathered as evidence to advance the hypothesized relationship between variables. In the formulation of! hypothesis, the investigator looks for the statements where she relates one or more variables to make predictions about the relationships. The hypothesis tells the researcher what to do and why to do it in the context of the problem.
- Thus, the hypothesis refers to a conjecture statement about the solution of a problem, which the researcher goes on to verify based on the relevant information collected by him.
- It is said to be a hunch, shrewd guess or supposition about what may be the answer to a problem. It is a statement that is tested in terms of the relationship or prediction, etc., after testing is either accepted or rejected.
- The terms hypothesis, theory or conclusion occur frequently in the research literature but differ slightly from each other. 'Hypothesis' is defined as a tentative solution or working proposition suggested as a solution to the problem, and as the final hypothesis. which is defensibly supported by all evidence. The final .hypothesis, which fits all the evidence, becomes the chief 'conclusion' inferred from the study.
Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that hypothesis is a prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested.
