What are research questions and hypotheses? (2 hours)

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Read at least two of the excerpts below. Each of these discusses what a hypothesis is (and how it is different from a research question) in a different way. I am asking you to read multiple explanations because I think the best way to understand a concept is not to just seek one "right" definition, but to learn about it from multiple perspectives and see what different perspectives have in common and what makes them different. This will give you a fuller understanding of the topic, as things in the world rarely have a single fixed "correct" definition.

You do not need to read every word of these. Your goal in reading these is to understand the difference between a hypothesis and a research question; you can read just enough to find that information (from at least two different readings). If there are some parts that you notice are not directly relevant to that goal, you can skip or skim them. (In particular, for this assignment, you can ignore anything about "null hypotheses" in the readings; null hypotheses are a particular statistical concept and are not relevant for this module, although you will learn more about them in the "Introduction to inferential statistics" module.) Reading should always be active (thinking about what you are trying to get from the reading, and constantly thinking about what you have read and how it relates to your goal), not just passively looking at every word of the text.

After you have read at least two texts, continue to the reflection questions below. As before, your answers to these are not graded; this is just an activity to get you thinking about what you've read.

Readings

Describe, in your own words (no copying or paraphrasing from the readings), what you think is the difference between a research topic, a research question, and a hypothesis.

Describe, in your own words, the characteristics of a good hypothesis. What makes a research hypothesis good? What's the difference between a good and a bad hypothesis?

Below I have written several passages. Each passage describes a research topic, research question, hypothesis, and the link between them. Figure out which passages have a good, well-stated research questions and hypotheses with good links between the research questions and hypotheses. (Below I sometimes use vague terms like "Theory A" or "Condition Y", but that's just because these examples are completely made-up. Don't base your judgment on how clear the names of the theories/conditions are; you can try to imagine whether a given passage would have a clear link between the research questions and hypotheses if I had given more descriptive names to things.) My answers are at the bottom of the page.

  1. The role of feedback in language learning is an important topic in pedagogy. There are different kinds of feedback, and some may be more useful than others. This study compares two kinds of feedback (Feedback A and Feedback B) to see which has a more positive impact on learning outcomes. According to Theory X, Feedback A should be more effective for language learning. We designed an experiment in which different groups of students got different types of feedback. We predict that students who get Feedback A will show greater improvement in test scores, compared to students who get Feedback A, over the course of the semester.
  2. The aim of this study is to better understand the neural mechanisms supporting language processing. We use EEG to record Chinese speakers' brain activity while they read different kinds of sentences, including SOV sentences with BA structure (把字句) and canonical SVO sentences. We compare the brain responses in these different types of sentence to determine what are the brain correlates of understanding different sentence structures.
  3. Understanding the extent and role of language transfer in language learners is crucial to understanding the language acquisition process. Language acquisition theory distinguishes between forward transfer (e.g., when a person's first language influences their second language) and backward transfer (e.g., when a person's second language influences their first language). However, different aspects of language may be affected, or not affected, by language transfer in different ways—for example, a language learner may experience forward transfer in terms of their production of syntax, but backward transfer in terms of their pronunciation. These patterns may also differ between individual learners. The present study will evaluate both production and comprehension of syntax, semantics, and phonetics, in a group of L1 Mandarin - L2 Korean learners, to determine what aspects of language show transfer. Individual differences between learners will also be investigated.
  4. One of the fundamental questions of linguistics is how language is represented in the mind. This issue is especially complicated for elements of language which undergo change. For example, some Mandarin syllables change their tone as a function of the context in which they are spoken: e.g., 水 (shui3, "water") is pronounced with a low tone when it is produced alone, but pronounced with a rising tone when it is produced in a compound word like 水果 (shui2guo3, "fruit"). In the mental lexicon of a Mandarin speaker, is the 水 in a word like 水果 represented as having a low tone (its true underlying form), or a rising tone (the form with which it is pronounced)? We test this question using an auditory priming experiment. Previous research has shown that listeners can respond to a word faster when they have previously been "primed" by a word with the same tone. In the present experiment, listeners respond to words like 水果 after being primed either by a low-tone syllable, or a rising-tone syllable. If these words are represented with the underlying (low) tone in the mind, participants should respond faster when primed by a low tone than when primed by a rising tone. On the other hand, if these words are represented with the surface (rising) tone in the mind, participants should respond faster when primed by a rising tone.

When you have finished these activities, continue to the next section of the module: "Identifying research questions and hypotheses".

Answers for the last activity:
A is good; it describes a big-picture question, mentions a theory that provides a link from the big-picture question to specific experiment results, and explains what is expected to happen in the experiment under a given big-picture theory.
B is not good; there are no specific hypotheses or predictions, no detail about what aspect of brain activity will be "compared".
C is not good; it just says that a lot of things will be looked at, but offers no specific hypotheses or predictions.
D is good; a big-picture question is raised and linked to specific predictions about what will occur in the experiment (and why) under different theories; in fact this is the design of a real study.


by Stephen Politzer-Ahles. Last modified on 2021-05-02. CC-BY-4.0.