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According to Cresswell (2009), research questions and testable hypotheses help the researcher narrow down his topic to particular ideas. He refers to them as the main signposts in any research since they tell readers the exact problem the researcher will address (Cresswell, 2009). As such, they should be written with utmost care and precision.
A hypothesis is usually a prediction of the most likely results of a particular study (Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 2010). Therefore, it should always clearly state the main objectives of the study and make it easier for people to identify major concepts involved in the research. In addition, it should illustrate the relationship between the problem being studied and the materials used in the study (On being a scientist: Responsible conduct in research, 2009). Therefore, one should grasp the purpose of a research after reading the hypothesis, even before going through the other parts of the research paper. According to Prasad, Rao & Rehani (2001), no problem can be tackled empirically without reducing it into a hypothesis (10). They also observed that research questions are hypotheses written in an interrogative format. In other words, research questions work the same way hypotheses work. They provide summaries of the tasks researchers tackle in their work. Whoever reads a research paper should be able to determine whether the research adequately addressed the problem or not by checking whether the arguments answer all the research questions or not (Reynolds, 2007). Therefore, just as hypotheses do, research questions indicate the main ideas tackled in a study.
The questions in the research at hand are very relevant to the hypothesis. The hypothesis predicts that the telephone-based intervention will have an enormous impact on fostering the withdrawal of smokers (Patten et al., 2008). The questions are aimed at proving the hypothesis either right or wrong. For example, one of the questions is, Based on your experience, compared with an in-person intervention, how effective do you think this counseling intervention for support persons over the telephone is? (Patten et al., 2008, p. 24). This question is meant to show the ability of the telephone-based-intervention in relation to other methods. The comparison will help make conclusions about the hypothesis.
Variables and Type of Hypothesis in the Research
The variables are motivation through counseling and the development of self-efficacy. The counselors tried to motivate their clients to develop self-efficacy and be able to take control of their own health. Talking to them, and rewarding improvement was expected to help the clients see the need to quit smoking (Patten et al., 2008). Based on Cresswells classification, this type of hypothesis is a directional hypothesis since it predicts that the use of the telephone-based-intervention will have greater effects on public health compared to other interventions since it reaches more people and is social in nature (Cresswell, 2009).
Conclusion
Research questions and hypotheses are very important in any research. They are the main guidelines to the topic being studied by the researcher. In the research analyzed in this work, the researchers use their research questions and hypothesis to prove the worth of the telephone-based intervention in helping smokers withdraw from smoking. The two elements reinforce each other in achieving the objective of the research. In carrying out research, researchers also use variables, which they manipulate to get their results. The research analyzed used a directional hypothesis since their variables predict that the results will be greater than those attained when other methods are used.
References
Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
On being a scientist: Responsible conduct in research. (2009). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Patten, C., Petersen, L., Brockman, T., Gerber, T., Offord, K., Ebbert, J.,&Boness, J. (2008). Development of a telephone-based-intervention for support persons to help smokers quit. Psychology, Health & Medicine 13(1): 17-28.
Prasad, S., Rao, A. & Rehani, E. (2001). Developing hypothesis and research questions. 500 Research Methods 12 (2): 1-30.
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reynolds, P. D. (2007). A primer in theory construction. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
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