Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a formal statement regarding

the relationship between variables and
is tested directly. The predicted relationship
between the variables is either true or false.

A supposition or proposed explanation made on the

basis of limited evidence as a starting point for
further investigation.
Variables are classified in terms of their
relationship with one another. It is customary
to talk about independent and dependent
variables.
Independent variables are systematically
varied by the researcher; dependent variables are
observed and their values are presumed to depend
on the effects (influence) of the independent
variables.
A simple hypothesis is a prediction of the relationship
between two variables: the independent variable and the
dependent variable.

Example : Young adult males who spend more time on

social media present higher levels of body dissatisfaction
than young adult males who don’t spend as much time.

 Drinking sugary drinks daily leads to obesity.

A complex hypothesis examines the relationship
between two or more independent variables and two or
more dependent variables.
Examples
 Camera angle and anchor style affects credibility.
 Media illiteracy and interest in violent video games
increase criminal attitude and fear.
A null hypothesis (H0) exists when a researcher
believes there is no relationship between the two
variables, or there is a lack of information to state a
scientific hypothesis. This is something to attempt to
disprove or discredit.
Example
 There is no effect of morning shows on cultural
attitude.
 Alternative hypothesis (H1) enters the scene in an
attempt to disprove a null hypothesis, researchers will
seek to discover an alternative hypothesis.

Example
 There is an effect of morning shows on cultural
attitude.
The empirical counterpart of a
concept is called a variable.

They are the phenomena and

events that are measured or
manipulated in research.
On the other hand, a research question is a
formally stated question intended to provide
indications about something; it is not limited
to investigating relationships between
variables. Research questions are appropriate
when a researcher is unsure about the
nature of the problem under investigation.
Although the intent is merely to gather preliminary
data, testable hypotheses are often
developed from information gathered during
the research question phase of a study.
 Concept
A theoretical concept is an idea we can
express as a
symbol or in words.
A concept is a term that expresses an abstract
idea formed by generalizing from particulars
and summarizing related observations.
Examples of concept
• Message length
• Advertising effectiveness
• Media usage
• Readability
advertising effectiveness, message length, media usage, and readability.
Freedom of press , media consumption, newspaper reading, media
influence, modernization, political development
Concepts are important for at least two
reasons. First, they simplify the research process
by combining particular characteristics,
objects, or people into general categories.

Second, concepts simplify communication

among those who have a shared understanding
of them. ,,
agenda setting
A construct is a concept that has three
distinct characteristics:
First, it is an abstract
idea that is usually broken down into dimensions
represented by lower-level concepts; a
construct is a combination of concepts. Second,
because of its abstraction, a construct
usually cannot be observed directly. Third,
a construct is usually designed for a specific
research purpose so that its exact meaning
relates only to the context in which it is
found.
For example, the construct “involvement”
has been used in many advertising
studies (search the Internet for “advertising
involvement”). Advertising involvement
is a construct that is difficult to see directly,
and it includes the concepts of attention, interest, and arousal.
authoritarianism, which
represents a construct defined to describe a
certain type of personality; it involves nine
different concepts, including conventionalism,
submission, superstition, and cynicism.
Concepts and constructs are valuable
tools in theoretical research, but, researchers also
function at the observational, or empirical, level.
The empirical counterpart of a construct
or concept is called a variable. Variables
are important because they link the empirical
world with the theoretical; they are the
phenomena and events that are measured or
manipulated in research.