1. Define hypothesis. Describe different types of hypotheses with suitable examples.

What are the criteria of a good hypothesis?

Hypothesis can be defined as the tentative assumptions which is made in order to draw
out and test it’s logical and empirical consequences. The assumption made is of research
issue. It is also the tentative relationship between two or more variables.
The different types of hypotheses include:

i. Descriptive:
A descriptive hypothesis presents the existence, size, type, and distribution of variables.
The descriptive hypothesis contains only one dependent variable and no independent
variable. Thus, it does not present the relationship between or among the variables.
Examples:
 Section A 2021 students are very intelligent.
 Eating fast food regularly causes obesity.

ii. Relational:
A relational hypothesis explains the relationship between two or more two variables. It
can be divided into two groups which are correlation hypothesis and explanatory or
causal hypothesis.

a. Correlation:
This type of hypothesis suggests that the two variables are connected where the variables
occur together in some specified manner without implying that one causes the other.
Example: An increase in income of employees increases the productivity.

b. Explanatory:
 This type of hypothesis is formulated on the basis of assumption that change in one
variable (independent variable) changes in another variable (dependent variable).

Example: Sharing the company's problem (independent variable) leads to positive

attitude of employees (dependent variable).

iii. Directional
A hypothesis that is formulated by comparison of two variables is known as a directional
hypothesis. If- then is used for the comparisons. It is known as directional as they
indicate the direction of the relationship between the variables (positive, negative, more
than, less than).
Example: MBA 2021 Section A students are more intelligent than MBA 2021 Section B
students.

iv. Non-directional
These types of hypotheses show the relationship or differences between variables but
does not direct the relationship. Here, the relationship between the variables is seen but
the relationship between variables which is either positive or negative is not seen.
Example: There is difference in intelligence among section A and Section B students.

v. Null:
The null hypothesis is expressed as no (significant) relationship, or no (significant)
difference between the variables. This type of hypothesis is of neutral position as It states
that the population correlation between two variables is equal to zero or that the
difference in the means of sample and population is zero. It is denoted by H0.
Example: There is no significant difference between productivity of company A and
company B.

vi. Alternative
 This type of hypothesis should state the conditions and circumstances under which it is
supposed to apply. There shouldn’t be ambiguity in the variables it can also be said as a
statement expressing a relationship between two variables or indicating differences
between groups. it is exactly the opposite of the null hypothesis and is denoted by H1.
Example: There is significant impact of training on performance of employees.

2. How research questions, objectives and hypothesis are different? Give examples.
A research question is the first step in any research. It is basically an inquiry on which the
research is based on and upon which researcher tries to provide answer to. it defines the
path for the research.
Research objectives describe what the research is trying to accomplish. It is the summary
of the approach and purpose of the research. Research objectives aim to break down the
variables in the hypothesis or the concepts in the research question to give the study more
focus.
A research hypothesis can be defined as the tentative assumptions which is made in
research in order to draw out and test it’s logical and empirical consequences. It is also
the tentative relationship between two or more variables.

Example:

Hypothesis:
H1: There is significant relationship between salary and job satisfaction.
H2: There is significant relationship between working hours and job satisfaction.
H3: There is significant relationship between incentives and job satisfaction.
H4: There is significant relationship between job security and job satisfaction.
H5: There is significant relationship between company policies and job satisfaction.

Objective:
O1: To examine the relationship between salary and job satisfaction.
O2: To examine the relationship between working hours and job satisfaction.
O3: To examine the relationship between incentives and job satisfaction.
 O4: To examine the relationship between job security and job satisfaction.
O5: To examine the relationship between company policies and job satisfaction.

Research Question
R1: What kind of relationship is there between salary and job satisfaction?
R2: What kind of relationship is there between working hours and job satisfaction?
R3: What kind of relationship is there between incentives and job satisfaction?
R4: What kind of relationship is there between job security and job satisfaction?
R5: What kind of relationship is there between company policies and job satisfaction?

3.What is research problem? Describe different types of research questions with

suitable examples.
A research problem or a research question is an inquiry on which the research is based on
and upon which researcher tries to provide answer to. it defines the path for the research.
Different types of research questions include:
i. Descriptive research questions:
Descriptive research questions are used to obtain quantitative information on the traits
and qualities of research subjects.
Example: What percentage of MBA students exercise on a daily basis?

ii. Comparative Research Questions:

A comparative research question is a type of quantitative research question which
used to gather information of two or more research subjects and then compare their
differences on the basis of different variables.
Example: What is difference in average grade of MBA 2021 Section A and Section B
students?

iii. Causal research questions:

The casual research question usually attempts to identify the relationship between
different variables on one or multiple groups. It is basically designed to determine
whether one or more variables causes or affects one or more outcome variables.
Example: Has the recent product promotion campaign changed the sales of product?