Types of Hypothesis -Hypothesis |Business Research Methods

Types of Hypothesis |Types of Hypothesis in Research |
Hypothesis | Business Research Methods
Management Notes

Types of hypothesis: The hypothesis is the tested relationship between two or more than two variables. The structure or format of hypothesis formulation depends upon the nature of the relationship predicted by the researcher.

Types of Hypothesis

• Descriptive/Univariate Hypothesis
• Explanatory Hypothesis/Causal /Bivariate Hypothesis
• Directional Hypothesis
• Non-Directional Hypothesis
• Null Hypothesis
• Alternative Hypothesis/Maintained hypothesis/Research hypothesis

a) Descriptive/ Univariate Hypothesis:

The descriptive hypothesis is a type of hypothesis which is based on data. The descriptive hypothesis contains only one variable so it is called a univariate hypothesis. The descriptive hypothesis typically states the existence, size, form or distribution of some variable. It describes the situation or collects the data, the same as it has happened without adding our own assumptions or judgments.

b) Explanatory/ Causal /Bivariate Hypothesis:

An explanatory hypothesis is a type of hypothesis which is used to test the cause and effect relationship between two or more than two variables. The independent variable is manipulated to cause-effect on the dependent variable and the dependent variable is measured to examine the effect created by the independent variable.

Example of Explanatory/ Causal /Bivariate Hypothesis,

An increase in age would lead to a decrease in organizational commitment.

c) Directional Hypothesis:

In terms of positive, negative and zero direction of the relationship between variables is indicated by this hypothesis. In the directional hypothesis, the direction of the relationship has been specified.

Example of Directional hypothesis,

Women are more motivated than men.

d) Non-Directional Hypothesis:

Non-Directional Hypothesis is a type of hypothesis in which the direction of the relationship between the variable is not specified. The relationship between the variable may be very strong, but whether it is positive or negative has not been specified. These hypotheses are formulated in cases where previous studies do not exist or indicate conflicting or contradictory findings.

Example of Non-Directional hypothesis,

There is a difference between work attitudes of industrial and agricultural workers.

e) Null Hypothesis:

Null Hypothesis is a type of hypothesis formulated by the researcher for testing the hypothesis. The ‘null’ often refers to the common view of something, while the alternative hypothesis is what the researcher really thinks is the cause of a phenomenon. A null hypothesis is a hypothesis that says there is no statistical significance between the two variables. It is usually the hypothesis a researcher or experimenter will try to disprove or discredit.

f) Alternative Hypothesis/Maintained hypothesis/Research hypothesis:

Alternative Hypothesis is a type of hypothesis that states there is a statistically significant relationship between two variables.

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