Overview
Source: Science Buddies
A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work.
Most of the time a hypothesis is written like this: “If __[I do this] __, then __[this]__ will happen.” (Fill in the blanks with the appropriate information from your own experiment.)
Your hypothesis must be something that you can actually test, what’s called a testable hypothesis. In other words, you need to be able to measure both “what you do” and “what will happen.”
Invest time searching the internet for scientific research papers related to your hypothesis as this can help you determine the uniqueness of your hypothesis and possible alternative formulations. Be sure to reference the relevant articles in your bibliography.
Tips
Source: Science Buddies
Our staff scientists offer the following tips for thinking about and writing good hypotheses.
- The question comes first. Before you make a hypothesis, you have to clearly identify the question you are interested in studying.
- A hypothesis is a statement, not a question. Your hypothesis is not the scientific question in your project. The hypothesis is an educated, testable prediction about what will happen.
- Make it clear. A good hypothesis is written in clear and simple language. Reading your hypothesis should tell a teacher or judge exactly what you thought was going to happen when you started your project.
- Keep the variables in mind. A good hypothesis defines the variables in easy-to-measure terms, like who the participants are, what changes during the testing, and what the effect of the changes will be. (For more information about identifying variables, see: Variables in Your Science Fair Project.)
- Make sure your hypothesis is “testable.” To prove or disprove your hypothesis, you need to be able to do an experiment and take measurements or make observations to see how two things (your variables) are related. You should also be able to repeat your experiment over and over again, if necessary.
To create a “testable” hypothesis make sure you have done all of these things:
- Thought about what experiments you will need to carry out to do the test.
- Identified the variables in the project.
- Included the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis statement. (This helps ensure that your statement is specific enough.
- Do your research. You may find many studies similar to yours have already been conducted. What you learn from available research and data can help you shape your project and hypothesis.
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Answering some scientific questions can involve more than one experiment, each with its own hypothesis. Make sure your hypothesis is a specific statement relating to a single experiment.