Dear Ahmad, I have got the following information from the book by Richard Andrews, 2003. Research Questions.

Hypotheses are generally thought to be more precise

than research questions, in that they may be posed on the

basis of a certain degree of knowledge in the field to be

explored. Research questions, on the other hand, can be

asked on the basis of no prior knowledge. In both cases,

precision is important: the sharper the question or

hypothesis, the more likely there is to be a clear answer or

result.

It is more likely that a research question

might lead, in due course, to a hypothesis to be

tested than it is for the reverse to take place. Such

directionality is a result of the fact that research questions

tend to be less certain of what kind of result is likely to ensue from the research - and if we expect research to

help us to be increasingly clear about a topic, we would

expect research questions to help us to formulate hypotheses

rather than the other way round.

Dear Ahmad, I have got the following information from the book by Richard Andrews, 2003. Research Questions.

Hypotheses are generally thought to be more precise

than research questions, in that they may be posed on the

basis of a certain degree of knowledge in the field to be

explored. Research questions, on the other hand, can be

asked on the basis of no prior knowledge. In both cases,

precision is important: the sharper the question or

hypothesis, the more likely there is to be a clear answer or

result.

It is more likely that a research question

might lead, in due course, to a hypothesis to be

tested than it is for the reverse to take place. Such

directionality is a result of the fact that research questions

tend to be less certain of what kind of result is likely to ensue from the research - and if we expect research to

help us to be increasingly clear about a topic, we would

expect research questions to help us to formulate hypotheses

rather than the other way round.

Ahmad, I believe both should be in there in a research.

Research Question is overall intention of the research. Means what has been proposed to solve. Whereas Hypothesis is about how the question was solved.

A Research Question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. For example, “What resources are helpful to new and minority drug abuse researchers?” To develop a strong research question from your ideas, you should ask yourself these things: Do I know the field and its literature well?

A well-thought-out and focused research question leads directly into your hypotheses. What predictions would you make about the phenomenon you are examining? 

Hypotheses are more specific predictions about the nature and direction of the relationship between two variables. For example, “Those researchers who utilize an online grant writing tutorial will have higher priority scores on their next grant application than those who do not.”

http://www.theresearchassistant.com/tutorial/2-1.asp

Dear Ahmad, 

We have this debate very often... The final conclusion was to use research questions in descriptive studies, and research hypothesis in experimental studies... 

Hope you benefit from this comment. 

By the way, 

As a reviewer, I consider using both questions and hypotheses as REDUNDANT. 

Research question must be tightly related to research aim/s and must also emerge from research framework.

Research hypotheses are statements of some of the different and possible solutions to the problem question. Research hypotheses are formulated clearly in terms of the relationship between the important variables.

A research question is the fundamental part of a research which determines the methodology and nature of the research. It is the guiding point at every stage of the research.  Creating a good research question is a challenging task. One has to start with what interests him and refine it until it is workable.  The question must be clear, relevant, interesting, manageable and original.

A research hypothesis is a statement about possible conclusion which is to be tested for validity.  Research hypothesis are formulated based on the experimental study and analysis of the relations between the variables under consideration of the study concerned.

Please see the interesting articles on this topic attached herewith.

https://explorable.com/research-hypothesis

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2912019/

http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-hypothesis-definition-lesson-quiz.html

Dear Ahmad Yussuf,

Hypothesis are formulated to answer research questions.

Dear Ahmad,

Many good answer you have had.

I only add to it that you use both in your research proposal if required or needed.

It's better to use both.

First frame the objectives.

Then frame the research questions according to your research objective.., and finally if you need or in position to suggest some probable answer to your research question which is supported by literature reviews.

Hypothesis may be alternate or research and null.

Frame null hypotheses if you will checking them statistically or your research is quantitative in nature.

Happy researching...

Research question

One of a number of key questions that the research process will address. These are often the precursor of research objectives (Saunders, 2007).

 Hypothesis

A hypothesis can be defined as a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of a testable statement. Relationships are conjectured on the basis of the network of associations established in the theoretical framework formulated for the research study. By testing the hypotheses and confirming the conjectured relationships, it is expected that solutions can be found to correct the problem encountered (Sekaran, 2003).

Reference

Saunders, M.N., 2007. Research methods for business students, 5/e. Pearson Education India.

Sekaran, U., 2003. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.

To the best of my knowledge "hypothesis" should be used in quantitative research.

Abdul Waheed those assumptions take the form of hypothesis in quantitative research and propositions in qualitative research, am I right?

Research question is the starting point of your journey to the research it is the question which can not be answered in just YES or NO. it requires exhaustive research. On the basis of the literature related to your research question you create some hypothesis, which is an statement defining relationship between defined variables. Furthermore, these hypothesis will be tested using scientific research methods. It can be either qualitative or quantitative.

but why some of the research articles do not have research questions?

Hypotheses should be used when the objectives are measurable.