What is the difference between the research problem, question, hypothesis, and null hypothesis?
Research problem the problem is the lack of understanding in the literature – the things we don’t know or that need further clarification. Example: the best method for teaching patients proper body mechanics is not really known. Research question This is stated as a question. A question that might help to delineate the solution to the problem. It will generally take many, many questions being answered to begin to understand the solution to the problem. Example: Is there a difference in how well patients learn body mechanics given a demonstration with handouts vs handouts alone? Research hypothesis This is a statement stating what the researcher expects to happen. It is based on the results analysis of the literature, theory, and clinical evidence. Example: Using demonstration with handouts will be more effective for patients learning body mechanics than using handouts alone. null hypothesis This is a special way of phrasing the hypothesis which is answered mathematically by a statistic