Exploratory Research Methods

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Caroline Cashion Question #1 * A hypothesis is a proposition to be tested, or a statement of a relationship between two variables. Hypothesis testing uses quantitative research and is concerned with describing cause and effect relationships. The ultimate goal for researchers in hypothesis testing is to provide evidence that a particular independent variable has a causal relationship with a particular dependent variable. The independent variable is a concept or construct that is believed to produce some measurable response or outcome (Jensen 211). A hypothetical theoretical construct would make a prediction about the links between two variables, and then set out to discover if their prediction holds true. An example of a hypothetical construct could be: Does the food offered by the university cause weight gain for the students that consume it? The independent variable would be the food that is offered by the university, while the dependent variable would be the outcome provided by the students. This exploratory research could be done by creating a questionnaire that asked the students how frequently they visit the university dining halls, which dining halls they go to, what they eat, if they have experienced weight gain since they have come to college, etc. The findings of the…show more content…
The knowledge that is gained through the process of immersion is inductive, because you start with nothing and gain knowledge as you go. Hypothesis testing starts with a hypothesis, and tests it; this makes it deductive because every time the hypothesis is tested it is deducting from the original hypothesis. The hypothetical-deductive method tends to be used to improve or clarify previous theories, while the inductive method creates laws based on the observation of the facts and by generalizing the observed behavior through
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