How do I Write a Good Hypothesis

Writing a good hypothesis is harder than you think. A good hypothesis is testable, falsifiable, and specific enough to be answered in an experiment or study.

Bad Hypothesis

Here are some examples of bad hypotheses: "Students will perceive the U.S. political system as unfair." This is very broad, and not testable in any way. "People who drink diet soda are less likely to gain weight than people who drink regular soda." There's no way to test this hypothesis because it doesn't define the groups being studied.

Good Hypothesis

So...how do you come up with a good hypothesis? It's simple. A good hypothesis has to be testable, so it usually takes the form of an "if-then" statement. The simplest way to create one is to answer these two questions: What are the potential outcomes of this research? Why would those outcomes occur?

Example: "If I give my dog treats before I take her to the vet, then she will be less likely to act aggressively during the examination."

This is a good hypothesis because it's testable. It would be very easy to observe whether or not the dog acted aggressively and if she was given treats before the visit.

Here's another way to think about it:

What am I trying to prove or disprove with my research? If I can prove this, then what will be true instead?

Example: "If the nicotine patch is placed on a person's skin for over eight hours, then their blood pressure will increase."

This hypothesis might be proved wrong (not to mention, the nicotine patch would not be safe to use for eight hours). The hypothesis should instead state that there would be no change in blood pressure.

If we look at our original example again: "If I give my dog treats before I take her to the vet, then she will be less likely to act aggressively during the examination."

We're trying to prove that the dog will not act aggressively during her exam.

Here's another way to think about writing a hypothesis: start by defining your terms. "Aggression" is difficult to measure, but you can write a specific alternative hypothesis that focuses on measurable factors like barking or growling. Then ask yourself why those behaviors would occur.

You should also pay attention to your use of "if" and "then." You can't go wrong if you clearly state what it is that you're testing, and why your outcome will occur. Stick with one outcome and alternate between "if" and "then," instead of using both words to introduce each outcome.

Variables of Hypothesis

To have a proper hypothesis, you must have all your variables in the correct place. In general, there are about five steps that will help you develop an accurate and successful hypothesis.

1) Define your terms - what will be the independent variable? What will be the dependent variable? You need these terms to be defined before you can move on. 

2) State the relationship between variables - this is generally in an "if-then" statement, where you define how the dependent variable will change based on the changes of the independent variable.

3) Make sure your hypothesis is measurable and testable - you need to make sure that there's a way to test your hypothesis so you can prove whether it's true or false.

4) Make sure the variables are independent of each other - you need to make sure that one variable is not affecting the other, otherwise, it makes it difficult to analyze data. If the variables are dependent on each other, then it makes your results less accurate.

5) Keep it simple - make sure your hypothesis is short, straightforward, and easy to read.

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