Research Questions and Hypotheses

Difference between research questions and hypotheses.....

Research questions are the core of a research project which Creswell (2003) identified as “the central direction for the study” (p. 105). These questions are well-crafted, indicating what researchers wish to focus on. Generally researchers start from ideas with inquiry and questions, and then formulate their questions precisely which enable them to answer, explain, and have a better understanding of their phenomena. Research questions are shaped by the identified problem and constraint the design of the study (Marshall & Rossman, 1999, p. 39), providing direction to the research process, suggesting the hypothesis (hypotheses).

Hypothesis is a proposition or set of propositions, which is widely used in scientific experiments. Social scientists adopted this scientific research skill ; using the hypotheses to test what they predict for a study. In this chapter, the research questions and hypotheses are formulated from Chapter 4 as descriptive, inferential, and causal questions.