Most commonly in scientific research, a hypothesis is a tentative, testable, and falsifiable statement that explains some observed phenomenon in nature.

A hypothesis is a tentative explanation for an observation. A scientific theory is a well-tested and consistently verified explanation for a set of observations or phenomena.

A suggested and testable explanation for an event is called a hypothesis.

Answered By: APUS Librarians. May 19, 2020 29637 A hypothesis is an educated guess or prediction about the relationship between two variables. It must be a testable statement; something that you can support or falsify with observable evidence. The objective of a hypothesis is for an idea to be tested, not proven.

The scientific method has five basic steps, plus one feedback step:

1. Make an observation.
2. Ask a question.
3. Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
4. Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
5. Test the prediction.
6. Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.

The Six Steps

• Purpose/Question. Ask a question.
• Research. Conduct background research.
• Hypothesis. Propose a hypothesis.
• Experiment. Design and perform an experiment to test your hypothesis.
• Data/Analysis. Record observations and analyze the meaning of the data.
• Conclusion.

A scientific problem is something you don’t understand but you can do an experiment to help you understand. Scientific problems are usually based on observation of scientific phenomena.

As a reminder, here are the steps to the method:

• Identify the problem. The first step in the scientific method is to identify and analyze a problem.
• Form a hypothesis.
• Test the hypothesis by conducting an experiment.
• Analyze the data.
• Communicate the results.

It provides an objective, standardized approach to conducting experiments and, in doing so, improves their results. By using a standardized approach in their investigations, scientists can feel confident that they will stick to the facts and limit the influence of personal, preconceived notions.

The scientific method of observation, hypothesis, and experiment can help us recognize, define, and solve our problems…

When conducting research, scientists use the scientific method to collect measurable, empirical evidence in an experiment related to a hypothesis (often in the form of an if/then statement), the results aiming to support or contradict a theory.

It is too easy to make assumptions, to believe what you want to believe, to ignore data that conflict with what you think. And as human beings, scientists can be all too guilty of these errors. The scientific method is a way to prevent these mistakes. It doesn’t always work, but it demonstrably has had some successes.

Characteristics of scientific method

• Unbiased. The great advantage of the scientific method is that it is unbiased.
• Falsifiable. For a scientific theory or hypothesis to be scientific, it must be subject to an experiment and/or discovery that could prove the theory or hypothesis untrue.
• Reproducible.

: principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.

In a scientific study, a control group is used to establish a cause-and-effect relationship by isolating the effect of an independent variable. Then they compare the results of these groups. Using a control group means that any change in the dependent variable can be attributed to the independent variable.