Correct Answer - Option 1 : Theory
Etymologically, the hypothesis is made up of two words 'hypo' (less than) and 'thesis', which means less than a thesis. It is the presumptive statement of a proposition or a reasonable guess, based upon the available evidence, which the researcher seeks to prove through his\her study.
- The 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 researches, which investigators gathered as evidence to advance the hypothesized relationship between variables.
- In the formulation of a 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.
- A hypothesis is often considered a tentative and testable statement of the possible relationship between two or more events/variables under investigation.
- A hypothesis does not have to be right or wrong, but the person formulating the hypothesis does have to be prepared to test the theory to its limits.
- A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for an observable phenomenon.
- The theory is an accepted hypothesis. It summarizes the hypothesis or a group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing.
- A theory is valid as long as there is no evidence to dispute it. Therefore theory can be disproved.
- A hypothesis is a theory that can after testing be accepted or rejected.
Thus, it is concluded that a hypothesis tested repeatedly and not found incorrect becomes a theory.
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Law: A true empirical generalization, either affirmative (All A’s are B) or conditional (If A, then B) is called a law, which is accepted as true.
- Discovery: Discoveries involve finding or gaining knowledge about something previously unknown or unseen.
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Basic concept: They are ordinary ideas that occur in the mind, thought, etc.
