Dear Anamitra Roy in this question I absolutely agree with Robert Trevethan when he says "Some research is simply not the kind that lends itself to hypotheses. It's more the kind of "What happens when we investigate this topic?" research." That's exactly what happens in our field of research, synthetic chemistry, regularly. We rarely (if ever) use the term "hypothesis", but instead terms like "idea". Such ideas often come me when reading others researchers work and are mostly based on analogies with our work. Then we go to the lab and ask ourselves: What happens when we try a reaction of compound X with compound Y?"

I had associated a hypothesis with quantitative research (but not qualitative).

This link is good:

https://www.soas.ac.uk/cedep-demos/000_P506_RM_3736-Demo/unit1/page_25.htm

Mary C R Wilson

Dear Professor,

Thank you very much for your contribution in this discussion. I shall surely go through the link.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

The two main streams of researches are quantitative and qualitative. Thought both of them have some query to answer or a riddle to solve. In quantitative research that query or riddle is named hypothesis while in qualitative research it is named research proposition.

Muhammad Mumtaz Khan

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution in this discussion. You have given a beautiful explanation of the matter. I shall be benefited hugely by your explanation.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

Anamitra Roy, the simple answer is no, hypotheses aren't necessary. A lot of research can simply be of the "what if?" variety. Of course, many of us have hunches before we embark on data collection, but those hunches can be unformed and not clearly predictive.

The most important thing is to investigate our hunches competently and honestly and not frame things such that we "find" what we wanted to find in the first place. Having an open mind when conducting research is very important.

Robert Trevethan

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

If you are conducting a quantitative research which is based on deductive reasoning as method of your logic, then, you would have a testable hypothesis which related to your research questions.

Simply, If you are In qualitative research process which is based on Inductive reasoning as method of your logic, then, you do not have any hypothesis. However, you may have a prediction or proposition, based on your theoretical perspectives. But, Let's bear in mind that at the final stage of your qualitative research process, you may hypothesize that the use of your idea would be resulted as a more acceptable way.

Bahram Shahedi

Dear professor,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread. I am benefited largely by your explanation of the topic of discussion.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

It helps a lot to guide. If not hypothesis, then present research questions.

Isaac Lare Animasaun

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Anamitra Roy, to my post up above, and having seen some contributions by others, I would add that, although hypotheses are by no means necessary it can be very useful to have research aims that are clearly stated. So, it's possible to have hypotheses, research questions, and aims, but those things need be applied according to the nature of the particular research venture.

It is not absolute requirement but good to have for making the research object clear.This requirement vaires from research to research. It also helps in validation with data.

Research hypotheses belong to quantitative methodology! Though these can still be replaced with research questions! The final call anyways belong to researcher himself that, how a research problem can be better presented!

Robert Trevethan Shirshendu Roy Syed Alamdar Ali Shah

Dear Researchers,

Thank you for your contributions in this thread. I found a similarity in what you have written. You have said that a hypothesis is not mandatory.

Actually, before I raised this topic of discussion, I was having a talk with one of my colleagues. We were both thinking that a hypothesis may not be mandatory. Suppose, I am doing a research on whether COVID-19 patients are being treated well by the doctors or not (in my city). And, in the process, I ask just one question where the respondents have to answer "yes" or "no". In this case, such a research may not have a hypothesis. Of course that depends on a number of factors. But this research may not have a hypothesis.

Your participation in this discussion has made the picture clearer to me.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Robert, "What if?" (that literally means an H_{1}) is just the reverse side of the null hypothesis (H_{0}). There is always a coin.

Syed Alamdar, the label does not change the essence (qualitative, quantitative...)

Vasyl Fedorovych Komarov

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread. I really like the way you explained the matter. Please give me some time to think about it. You have explained the matter in a very thought provoking manner.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Remi Chukwudi Okeke

Dear Remi,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread. Since you have explained the complicated topic in a very lucid language, I enjoyed going through it. But I have a question in this regard. And, I am submitting the question most respectfully. This question is also for Vasyl Fedorovych Komarov

Kindly, help me to understand that when I am pursuing a research that involves just a collection of some information, should that type of a research also have a hypothesis. Is it necessary?

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Anamitra Roy in our field of research, synthetic chemistry, we rarely talk about "hypotheses". It's a big word, and we normally talk about "ideas". Quite often I just have a spontaneous idea when I read chemical literature. Then we just go to the lab and try it out.

Remi Chukwudi Okeke

Dear Remi,

Thank you. Now it is clearer to me.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Frank T. Edelmann

Dear Professor Frank,

I totally agree with you. This is the same thing that happens in Marketing Management also. We get an idea and we try it out. The confusion in my mind arose because of the jugglery of words, "hypotheses" and "ideas". From now on I will also use this word. Thank you for showing me the way.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

@Rumi Chukwudi Okeke! Look a hypotheses is always tested! If something is going to be tested it is no longer a qualitative research!

Qualitative research can only be used to generate hypotheses to some extent! But testing but testing hypotheses is a purely quantitative research issue! You can not test a hypothesis using qualitative research.

Syed Alamdar Ali Shah

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Yes, all researches should have a hypothesis in their research methodology.

Md. Abul Kalam Azad

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Scientists and Researchers,

With so many different types of opinions, I am enjoying this thread. It is giving me a lot of knowledge about hypothesis of a research. It is a great pleasure to go through your opinions.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear researcher,

Any legitimate answer to your question must feed from the literature on esearch methodology and design.

"Is it mandatory for all research enquiries to have a hypothesis? "

The answer is "no". There are various established traditions in research that call for distinct methodologies, strategies and practices. The formulation of one or more hypotheses is a practice that is inherent to the quantitative tradition in research ( Creswell, 2003). Why is that so? When you formulate a hypothesis, you clearly pinpoint your constructs under investigation, which is a necessary condition for the logic that applies to quantitative research. When you opt for a qualitative approach, you aford to have research questions. You legitimise your influence on the object of research by means of interpretive ( subjective) modes of enquiry. By way of analogy, in a mixed methods approach, you can use both: hypotheses and research questions.

Kind regards

Dear Anamrita,

It depends on the kind of research you are pursuing. Normally, scholars use hypotheses to reach logical understanding of the research problem through research findings @ Anamitra

Nabil Morchid Remi Chukwudi Okeke

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contributions. Its been one of those threads that I have enjoyed the most. And, that has been possible because of you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Hypotheses are more required in the experimental research while in descriptive research questions are sufficient. In descriptive research, hypotheses may be used if the researcher has some predictions of the finings and wants to determine his research to specific investigations.

Sabri Thabit Saleh Ahmed

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Despite the nature of the conducted research, researchers shall always propose hypothesis, which reflects their point of view. Not providing the same suggest that Author has no suggestions or may lack knowledge. Moreover, proper research cannot be conducted without defining the research objective and analysis of the research gap.

Anna Tarabasz

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

Look, accepting a hypothesis on the basis of qualitative research is just like accepting a new medicine just on the recommendation of a scientist that it will work!

You can simply the review the process of covid19 vaccine development! Russians recommended a medicine for covid19 treatment (Qualitative research) but the world rejected it for want of testing on masses (Quantitative testing).

A medicine developed after using previous research on properties of diseases and biomedical properties before is goes under any testing is a qualitative research. The moment you start testing it even on mice, it is Quantitative research. Similarly, in social sciences you build an argument or theory after Qualitative research. Quantitative research is testing it by developing models and constructs in different scenarios.

Syed Alamdar Ali Shah

Dear Researcher,

Thank you for your contribution. The way, you explained everything with the help of examples, made it very easy to understand.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

I believe a true exploratory research should have only an aim .. the more you keep you mindset open to any possibility.. the more might make a great contribution in your research. This is my personal experience

Mohamed Buheji

Dear professor,

Thank you for your contribution in this discussion. You have a new dimension by writing about how to make a great contribution through research.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Anamitra Roy we followed this exploratory approach in all our research and for that, we got high sustained outcome .. However, you need to see every problem you are exploring in your research as a possible opportunity that can be exploited more and more. Here is an example from one of the most popular & sold books Book Re-Inventing Our Life-Final Printed

Mohamed

Dear Anamitra Roy

Imagination, thinking, dreaming and hypothesis are the back-bone for carrying or doing any kind of research work in any field. It is the hypothesis that develop a level of critical thinking for doing research. If you cannot imagin a beautiful world with critical thinking of dreaming a better life, then you are not a true researcher. Thus why, it is very important for every researcher to have hypothesis. I am surprised, how can one even imagin of doing research without hypothesis. If so, it would mean a movie without thril and a dancing party without any music.

Dear Anamitra Roy,

I am just wondering if it is possible to do experimental and even theoretical physics studies without any hypotheses. It is a hypothesis that helps to proposed description made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for the project.

no

Dunya Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed

Dear Professor,

Thank you very much for your contribution in this discussion.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

M. Imtiaz Khan

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your contribution. You were thinking about physics. I was thinking about various branches of Business Management like Finance, HRM and particularly Marketing Management. In Business Management, it happens very often that there is no hypothesis in a research. In fact, the purpose of the research is to develop a hypothesis which needs to be tested in advance phases of that research.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Researching efforts are exerted to actualize certain goals and these goals or aims are supposed to be achieved by means of hypothesizing about the major forthcoming results and findings that we expect or we aim to verify or reject.

Hasan Abu-Krooz

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your contribution. You have very nicely linked hypothesis with the goals of the research.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

It is pleasure to be in your discussion, dear Professor. I hope I could add something useful to the discussion.

I think it is mandatory to fix a hypothesis prior to start the new research. Without hypothesis good results will not be produced.

No

No

M. D.H. Prodhan

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your contribution. I appreciate the firmness with which you have expressed yourself.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Ghusoon Natiq Abdul Hameed,

I am happy to get recommendations from you as a sound researchers

Kifah Said

Professor,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

I'm sorry if I appear to be disagreeable, but I think it is definitely not mandatory to have an hypothesis at the commencement of research.

Some research is simply not the kind that lends itself to hypotheses. It's more the kind of "What happens when we investigate this topic?" research. That's often the case in quantitative research and perhaps highly desirable in a lot of qualitative research where having hypotheses might incline researchers to bias the way they collect and analyse results.

Of course, most researchers commence with hunches, and they certainly should have aims - but I believe they should be willing to modify or even abandon those hunches and aims, if necessary, as their research unfolds.

Evidence of hypotheses not being necessary in research is available from the many articles in which there is no mention of hypotheses.

And, from another angle, when mention of hypotheses is made in quite a lot of articles, it is pretty obvious that those hypotheses were confected after the research had been completed. To me, this indicates a naive and undesirable (and even dishonest) approach to research.

Yes, hypothesis is very important, I think.

Md. Abdur Razzak Choudhury

Dear Professor,

Thank you very much for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Robert Trevethan

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your contribution.

I found two fascinating points in your contribution. You wrote that most researches usually don't start with a hypotheses. Well, this is what I had seen in the university when I was a scholar and when I am a teacher. You also wrote that a hypothesis sort of produces a bias in the researcher's mind. I totally agree with you on this ground.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Yes as results and conclusions are mostly decided by materials and method used for experimentations

M.K. Tripathi

Professor,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

It is necessory when probability of 2 or more outcomes is involved

Mubashir Ali Rather

Professor,

Thank you for your contribution. This is a priceless point that you have raised.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

It depend on the research type, specially in qualitative research no need hypothesis.

G.V.P. Samaranayake

Professor,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Гипотеза необходима для фундаментальных исследований. Для прикладных исследований гипотеза не требуется. На то исследование и есть с прикладным использованием.

Thanks @ Anamitra Roy

Zagir Ataev

Professor,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread. You have said that a hypothesis is required in basic research. Do you say this because in basic research an attempt is being made to clearly mark the territories of the research. It would be nice to get your opinion about my understanding.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

В любой проектной деятельности гипотеза является его составной частью. Но часто в прикладных исследованиях нет надобности формулировать гипотезу. Например, при описании горного хребта с точки зрения его проходимости в туристских целях гипотеза совершенно не нужна.

Zagir Ataev

Professor,

Thank you for your explanation. I loved the example that you used to explain this.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

In the general case, the main hypothesis of each researcher is that his results will be new and have a positive effect.

Nope Anamitra Roy .

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_it_a_must_for_a_quantitative_study_to_have_hypotheses

Nadeesha Sewwandi Abegunasekara

Professor,

Thank you for your contribution. I shall surely go through the link that you have posted here.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

It depends on the research. Quantitative research must have hypothesis to test statistically, whereas qualitative research don't require hypothesis.

Bala Subramanian

Dear Professor.

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Anamitra Roy in this question I absolutely agree with Robert Trevethan when he says "Some research is simply not the kind that lends itself to hypotheses. It's more the kind of "What happens when we investigate this topic?" research." That's exactly what happens in our field of research, synthetic chemistry, regularly. We rarely (if ever) use the term "hypothesis", but instead terms like "idea". Such ideas often come me when reading others researchers work and are mostly based on analogies with our work. Then we go to the lab and ask ourselves: What happens when we try a reaction of compound X with compound Y?"

Frank T. Edelmann

Dear Professor,

Thank you for sharing this piece of knowledge in this thread. I also thought that it is not necessary for all researches to have hypothesis. In social sciences also this happens that certain researches are pursued to understand "What happens when we investigate this topic". This is particularly applicable in case of "Survey Researches" in social sciences.

Thank you for your support and kindness.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Anamitra Roy you're welcome. As so often, the answer to this question strongly depends on the various disciplines of research. Of course, in disciplines like chemistry and physics there are also "hypotheses" of more general importance such as e.g. the so-called "isolobal principle" proposed by Roald Hoffmann who was later (in 1981) awarded the chemistry Nobel prize for this fundamental hypothesis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolobal_principle). However, the everyday research of "normal" chemists is much more specialized. That's why in chemistry nobody ever wants to repeat other researchers work in order to prove or disprove the reported findings.

When there is probability of two outcomes then it is mandatory for a researcher to have a hypothesis.

Hypotheses is the compulsory part of the research

Gopal Shukla

Dear professor,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

shahin mardani

Dear Shahin,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Mubashir Ali Rather

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread. I appreciate your opinion about presence of hypothesis in researches where there is a probability of two outcomes.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Frank T. Edelmann

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your constant guidance and information sharing in this thread. Everyone (that includes me also) following this thread has been benefited by your presence here.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Frank T. Edelmann

Dear Professor,

You wrote that in chemistry no body ever wants to repeat other researcher's work in order to prove or disprove their reported findings. That is why, you don't need hypothesis compulsorily in researches in those disciplines.

In social sciences, it is very common that one pursues a research in order to prove or disprove other researchers' reported findings. For example, I can tell you about the survey researches that are pursued before elections. Say, there is a survey research pursued about the results in elections, about 30 days before the elections. The same research may also be pursued again to prove or disprove of the reported findings of the prior research and this research may be pursued 10 days before the elections. That is why, in social sciences it is very difficult to proceed with the research without hypothesis. In very rare cases, it is possible to pursue a research in social sciences without a hypothesis.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

I think it's crucial, but not mandatory. Depends upon discipline.

Thank you for information

Kabita Shah

Dear Professor,

Thank you fr your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

Dear Anamitra Roy "In social sciences, it is very common that one pursues a research in order to prove or disprove other researchers' reported findings." Yes, this shows again the huge differences between various disciplines of research. In our discipline, synthetic chemistry, new chemical compounds are routinely characterized and identified by well established spectroscopic and analytical methods. Once this set of characterization methods has been completed, everyone will agree that the new compound is fully characterized. Thus there is normally no nead to repeat or verify this work, especially in view of the fact that hundreds if not thousands of new chemical compounds are synthesized every day.

Frank T. Edelmann

Dear Professor Frank,

I totally agree with you. Natural sciences like chemistry are more "exact" by nature. The problem with social sciences is that there is nothing "exact" by nature. Probably, politics is a social science with the highest degree of "inexactness". However, this is my personal opinion. When a policy is applied in a nation, it reaps certain results. When it is applied in another nation, it may reap a totally different set of results. So in these disciplines there arises this need to go on pursuing research on the same topic again and again.

Si, I totally agree with you.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

Dear Anamitra Roy, this is an interesting topic. I think hypotheses development in research do not apply to all kinds of research. In fact the use of hypotheses depends largely on the field of research. Business and social sciences research normal use hypotheses which predict the outcome of the study. However, in the field of engineering, hypotheses are rarely used because predictions of outcomes are not useful, but are interested in causes and effects.

Humphrey Danso

Dear Professor Humphrey,

Thank you for your contribution in this thread. Your explanation of the need of hypotheses in research is agreeable. This is basically the point that we were discussing in this thread. Professor Frank T. Edelmann wrote about how hypothesis is more applied in chemistry, you discussed about engineering. I agree with you. Its actually the nature of the discipline that decides this.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

I think, it depends from field of work and particular discipline.

Dhiraj Kumar

Dear Professor,

Thank you for your contribution.

Best regards,

Anamitra.

No doubt not, it depends on the research method. We are not allowed to hypothesize in a qualitative method, we just have to ask questions. must consider that qualitative research methods, in the literature using the terms conceptual framework, theoretical framework, paradigm, and epistemology. While these approaches are helpful in their own context, we summarize and distill them in order to build upon the case that a balanced and centered use of the theoretical framework can bolster the qualitative approach. Compilers of methodological approaches have referred to the use of theory as analogous to a coat closet in which different items can be housed or a lens through which the literature and data in the study are viewed. And one should not think that using them to present hypotheses.

By type of research

The researcher's use of hypotheses depends on the topic of the research itself. Social issues are more capable of description than experimentation, so we find it common to use research questions, and on the contrary, research related to physics, chemistry, geology, etc., hypotheses can be used extensively, due to the presence of clear digital, With the need to conduct experiments, however, what has been mentioned above is common, and from this point of view we find that there are those who use research questions and hypotheses in both social and natural research, and there is no problem with that, and the most important thing is that the results appear clear and unambiguous, with evidence and evidence. Clues convince readers.