A hypothesis is an explanation for something that has been observed. Types of hypothesis include null hypothesis, alternative hypothesis, and scientific hypothesis. Null and alternative hypotheses are the two types of hypothesis found in statistical hypothesis testing. One is often just the negation of the other. Scientific hypothesis is most commonly known as an educated guess. It is a
. scientific theory that has not yet been proven to be true. Almost always, a hypothesis is formulated according to the same archetype, "If...., then..." It is a falsifiable prediction, subject to scrutiny by reason, evidence and observation. This holds true whether the research is qualitative or quantitative.In the history of humanity, there has yet to be conceived a more thorough and effective method for analyzing sober fact than the scientific method. Science is a cumulative effort, new research is based upon the theories, laws and paradigms of earlier research and observation. The only exception for this rule occurs in the absence of careful observation. A proper scientific hypothesis must strike a perfect balance between the rational and the empirical. Theory and observation are wings of the same bird. Evidence without theory is hard to interpret; likewise, theory without evidence is useless. A scientific theory must not only offer explanatory and predictive power, but must be simple in the sense that a slew of exceptions not be needed to explain various phenomena. This is the principle of Occam's Razor. For example, it is indeed possible to describe the motion of the planets in a geocentric solar system using the Ptolemaic system. However, this required countless epicycles and deferents to rationalize phenomena such as the retrograde motion of Mars (caused by a divergence in average orbital velocities between the Earth and Mars).Check out these links for more information on scientific hypotheses:http://www.batesville.k12.in.us/physics/phynet/aboutscience/hypotheses.htmlhttp://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/Theories.shtml More reference links: http://www.batesville.k12.in.us/physics/phynet/aboutscience/hypotheses.html http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/Theories.shtml
