2) State the Null Hypothesis
A null hypothesis usually states that there is no relationship between the two variables.
For example,
There is no relationship between the length of the job training program and the rate of job placement of trainees.
Graduate assistant pay is not influenced by gender.
A null hypothesis may also state that the relationship proposed in the research hypothesis is not true.
For example,
Longer training programs will place the same number or fewer trainees into jobs as shorter programs.
Female graduate assistants are paid at least 75% or more of what male graduate assistants are paid.
Researchers use a null hypothesis in research because it is easier to disprove a null hypothesis than it is to prove a research hypothesis.
The null hypothesis is the researcher’s “straw man.” That is, it is easier to show that something is false once than to show that something is always true.
It is easier to find disconfirming evidence against the null hypothesis than to find confirming evidence for the research hypothesis.