Which type of hypothesis is a positive statement that covers a relationship that exists between the independent and dependent variables?

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Hypothesis Formulation

A hypothesis is used to explain a phenomenon or predict a relationship in communication research. There are four evaluation criteria that a hypothesis must meet. First, it must state an expected relationship between variables. Second, it must be testable and falsifiable; researchers must be able to test whether a hypothesis is truth or false. Third, it should be consistent with the existing body of knowledge. Finally, it should be stated as simply and concisely as possible.

Formulating a hypothesis requires a specific, testable, and predictable statement driven by theoretical guidance and/or prior evidence. A hypothesis can be formulated in various research designs. In experimental settings, researchers compare two or more groups of research participants to investigate the differences of the research outcomes. These ...

  • Creating and Conducting Research

    • Creation of Research Project
      • Authoring: Telling a Research Story
      • Body Image and Eating Disorders
      • Hypothesis Formulation
      • Methodology, Selection of
      • Program Assessment
      • Research Ideas, Sources of
      • Research Project, Planning of
      • Research Question Formulation
      • Research Topic, Definition of
      • Research, Inspiration for
      • Social Media: Blogs, Microblogs, and Twitter
      • Testability
    • Ethics
      • Acknowledging the Contribution of Others
      • Activism and Social Justice
      • Anonymous Source of Data
      • Authorship Bias
      • Authorship Credit
      • Confidentiality and Anonymity of Participants
      • Conflict of Interest in Research
      • Controversial Experiments
      • Copyright Issues in Research
      • Cultural Sensitivity in Research
      • Data Security
      • Debriefing of Participants
      • Deception in Research
      • Ethical Issues, International Research
      • Ethics Codes and Guidelines
      • Fraudulent and Misleading Data
      • Funding Research
      • Health Care Disparities
      • Human Subjects, Treatment of
      • Informed Consent
      • Institutional Review Board
      • Organizational Ethics
      • Peer Review
      • Plagiarism
      • Plagiarism, Self-
      • Privacy of Information
      • Privacy of Participants
      • Public Behavior, Recording of
      • Reliability, Unitizing
      • Research Ethics and Social Values
      • Researcher-Participant Relationships
      • Social Implications of Research
    • Literature Reviews
      • Archive Searching for Research
      • Bibliographic Research
      • Databases, Academic
      • Foundation and Government Research Collections
      • Library Research
      • Literature Review, The
      • Literature Reviews, Foundational
      • Literature Reviews, Resources for
      • Literature Reviews, Strategies for
      • Literature Sources, Skeptical and Critical Stance Toward
      • Literature, Determining Quality of
      • Literature, Determining Relevance of
      • Meta-Analysis
      • Publications, Scholarly
      • Search Engines for Literature Search
      • Vote Counting Literature Review Methods
    • Writing and Publishing Research
      • Abstract or Executive Summary
      • Academic Journals
      • Alternative Conference Presentation Formats
      • American Psychological Association (APA) Style
      • Archiving Data
      • Blogs and Research
      • Chicago Style
      • Citations to Research
      • Evidence-Based Policy Making
      • Invited Publication
      • Limitations of Research
      • Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
      • Narrative Literature Review
      • New Media Analysis
      • News Media, Writing for
      • Panel Presentations and Discussion
      • Pay to Review and/or Publish
      • Peer Reviewed Publication
      • Poster Presentation of Research
      • Primary Data Analysis
      • Publication Style Guides
      • Publication, Politics of
      • Publications, Open-Access
      • Publishing a Book
      • Publishing a Journal Article
      • Research Report, Organization of
      • Research Reports, Objective
      • Research Reports, Subjective
      • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
      • Secondary Data
      • Submission of Research to a Convention
      • Submission of Research to a Journal
      • Title of Manuscript, Selection of
      • Visual Images as Data Within Qualitative Research
      • Writer’s Block
      • Writing a Discussion Section
      • Writing a Literature Review
      • Writing a Methods Section
      • Writing a Results Section
      • Writing Process, The

  • Designing the Empirical Inquiry

    • Content Analysis
      • Coding of Data
      • Content Analysis, Definition of
      • Content Analysis, Process of
      • Content Analysis: Advantages and Disadvantages
      • Conversation Analysis
      • Critical Analysis
      • Discourse Analysis
      • Interaction Analysis, Quantitative
      • Intercoder Reliability
      • Intercoder Reliability Coefficients, Comparison of
      • Intercoder Reliability Standards: Reproducibility
      • Intercoder Reliability Standards: Stability
      • Intercoder Reliability Techniques: Cohen’s Kappa
      • Intercoder Reliability Techniques: Fleiss System
      • Intercoder Reliability Techniques: Holsti Method
      • Intercoder Reliability Techniques: Krippendorf Alpha
      • Intercoder Reliability Techniques: Percent Agreement
      • Intercoder Reliability Techniques: Scott’s Pi
      • Metrics for Analysis, Selection of
      • Narrative Analysis
      • Observational Research Methods
      • Observational Research, Advantages and Disadvantages
      • Observer Reliability
      • Rhetorical and Dramatism Analysis
      • Semiotics
      • Unobtrusive Analysis
    • Internet Inquiry
      • Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
      • Chat Rooms
      • Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)
      • Internet as Cultural Context
      • Internet Research and Ethical Decision Making
      • Internet Research, Privacy of Participants
      • Online and Offline Data, Comparison of
      • Online Communities
      • Online Data, Collection and Interpretation of
      • Online Data, Documentation of
      • Online Data, Hacking of
      • Online Interviews
      • Online Social Worlds
      • Social Networks, Online
      • Spam
    • Measurement
      • Correspondence Analysis
      • Cutoff Scores
      • Data Cleaning
      • Data Reduction
      • Data Trimming
      • Facial Affect Coding System
      • Factor Analysis
      • Factor Analysis: Confirmatory
      • Factor Analysis: Evolutionary
      • Factor Analysis: Exploratory
      • Factor Analysis: Internal Consistency
      • Factor Analysis: Parallelism Test
      • Factor Analysis: Rotated Matrix
      • Factor Analysis: Varimax Rotation
      • Factor Analysis-Oblique Rotation
      • Implicit Measures
      • Measurement Levels
      • Measurement Levels, Interval
      • Measurement Levels, Nominal/Categorical
      • Measurement Levels, Ordinal
      • Measurement Levels, Ratio
      • Observational Measurement: Face Features
      • Observational Measurement: Proxemics and Touch
      • Observational Measurement: Vocal Qualities
      • Organizational Identification
      • Outlier Analysis
      • Parsimony
      • Physiological Measurement
      • Physiological Measurement: Blood Pressure
      • Physiological Measurement: Genital Blood Volume
      • Physiological Measurement: Heart Rate
      • Physiological Measurement: Pupillary Response
      • Physiological Measurement: Skin Conductance
      • Range
      • Raw Score
      • Reaction Time
      • Reliability of Measurement
      • Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha
      • Reliability, Knuder-Richardson
      • Reliability, Split-half
      • Scales, Forced Choice
      • Scales, Likert Statement
      • Scales, Open-Ended
      • Scales, Rank Order
      • Scales, Semantic Differential
      • Scales, True/False
      • Scaling, Guttman
      • Standard Score
      • Time Series Notation
      • True Score
      • Validity, Concurrent
      • Validity, Construct
      • Validity, Face and Content
      • Validity, Halo Effect
      • Validity, Measurement of
      • Validity, Predictive
      • Variables, Conceptualization
      • Variables, Operationalization
      • Z Transformation
    • Research Subjects/Participants
      • Cohort
      • Confederates
      • Generalization
      • Imagined Interactions
      • Informants
      • Interviewees
      • Matched Groups
      • Matched Individuals
      • Random Assignment of Participants
      • Respondents
      • Response Style
      • Treatment Groups
      • Vulnerable Groups
    • Sampling
      • Experience Sampling Method
      • Sample Versus Population
      • Sampling Decisions
      • Sampling Frames
      • Sampling, Internet
      • Sampling, Methodological Issues in
      • Sampling, Multistage
      • Sampling, Nonprobability
      • Sampling, Probability
      • Sampling, Special Population
    • Survey Research
      • Opinion Polling
      • Sampling, Random
      • Survey Instructions
      • Survey Questions, Writing and Phrasing of
      • Survey Response Rates
      • Survey Wording
      • Survey: Contrast Questions
      • Survey: Demographic Questions
      • Survey: Dichotomous Questions
      • Survey: Filter Questions
      • Survey: Follow-up Questions
      • Survey: Leading Questions
      • Survey: Multiple-Choice Questions
      • Survey: Negative-Wording Questions
      • Survey: Open-Ended Questions
      • Survey: Questionnaire
      • Survey: Sampling Issues
      • Survey: Structural Questions
      • Surveys, Advantages and Disadvantages of
      • Surveys, Using Others’
      • Under-represented Group

  • Qualitatively Examining Information

    • Qualitative Concepts and Techniques
      • Alternative News Media
      • Analytic Induction
      • Archival Analysis
      • Artifact Selection
      • Autoethnography
      • Axial Coding
      • Burkean Analysis
      • Case Study
      • Close Reading
      • Coding, Fixed
      • Coding, Flexible
      • Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS)
      • Covert Observation
      • Critical Ethnography
      • Critical Incident Method
      • Critical Race Theory
      • Cultural Studies and Communication
      • Demand Characteristics
      • Ethnographic Interview
      • Ethnography
      • Ethnomethodology
      • Fantasy Theme Analysis
      • Feminist Analysis
      • Field Notes
      • First Wave Feminism
      • Fisher Narrative Paradigm
      • Focus Groups
      • Frame Analysis
      • Garfinkling
      • Gender-Specific Language
      • Grounded Theory
      • Hermeneutics
      • Historical Analysis
      • Ideographs
      • Induction
      • Informant Interview
      • Interaction Analysis, Qualitative
      • Interpretative Research
      • Interviews for Data Gathering
      • Interviews, Recording and Transcribing
      • Journals
      • Marxist Analysis
      • Meta-ethnography
      • Metaphor Analysis
      • Narrative Interviewing
      • Naturalistic Observation
      • Negative Case Analysis
      • Neo-Aristotelian Method
      • New Media and Participant Observation
      • Participant Observer
      • Pentadic Analysis
      • Performance Research
      • Phenomenological Traditions
      • Poetic Analysis
      • Postcolonial Analysis
      • Power in Language
      • Pronomial Use-Solidarity
      • Psychoanalytic Approaches to Rhetoric
      • Public Memory
      • Qualitative Data
      • Queer Methods
      • Queer Theory
      • Researcher-Participant Relationships in Observational Research
      • Respondent Interviews
      • Rhetoric as Epistemic
      • Rhetoric, Aristotle’s: Ethos
      • Rhetoric, Aristotle’s: Logos
      • Rhetoric, Aristotle’s: Pathos
      • Rhetoric, Isocrates’
      • Rhetorical Artifact
      • Rhetorical Method
      • Rhetorical Theory
      • Second Wave Feminism
      • Snowball Subject Recruitment
      • Social Constructionism
      • Social Network Analysis
      • Spontaneous Decision Making
      • Symbolic Interactionism
      • Synecdoche
      • Terministic Screens
      • Textual Analysis
      • Thematic Analysis
      • Theoretical Traditions
      • Third-Wave Feminism
      • Transcription Systems
      • Triangulation
      • Turning Point Analysis
      • Unobtrusive Measurement
      • Visual Materials, Analysis of

  • Statistically Analyzing Data

    • Analysis of Variance Approaches
      • t-Test
      • t-Test, Independent Samples
      • t-Test, One Sample
      • t-Test, Paired Samples
      • Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
      • Analysis of Ranks
      • Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
      • Bonferroni Correction
      • Chi-Square
      • Decomposing Sums of Squares
      • Error Term
      • Eta Squared
      • Factorial Analysis of Variance
      • McNemar Test
      • One-Tailed Test
      • One-Way Analysis of Variance
      • Post Hoc Tests
      • Post Hoc Tests: Duncan Multiple Range Test
      • Post Hoc Tests: Least Significant Difference
      • Post Hoc Tests: Scheffe Test
      • Post Hoc Tests: Student-Newman-Keuls Test
      • Post Hoc Tests: Tukey Honestly Significance Difference Test
      • Repeated Measures
    • Experimental Design Issues
      • p value
      • Between-Subjects Design
      • Blocking Variable
      • Causality
      • Control Groups
      • Counterbalancing
      • Cross-Sectional Design
      • Data
      • Degrees of Freedom
      • Delayed Measurement
      • Ex Post Facto Designs
      • Experimental Manipulation
      • Experiments and Experimental Design
      • External Validity
      • Extraneous Variables, Control of
      • Factor, Crossed
      • Factor, Fixed
      • Factor, Nested
      • Factor, Random
      • Factorial Designs
      • False Negative
      • False Positive
      • Field Experiments
      • Hierarchical Model
      • Individual Difference
      • Internal Validity
      • Laboratory Experiments
      • Latin Square Design
      • Longitudinal Design
      • Manipulation Check
      • Measures of Variability
      • Median Split of Sample
      • Mixed Level Design
      • Multitrial Design
      • Null Hypothesis
      • One-Group Pretest–Posttest Design
      • Orthogonality
      • Overidentified Model
      • Pilot Study
      • Population/Sample
      • Power Curves
      • Quantitative Research, Purpose of
      • Quantitative Research, Steps for
      • Quasi-Experimental Design
      • Random Assignment
      • Replication
      • Research Proposal
      • Rigor
      • Sampling Theory
      • Sampling, Determining Size
      • Solomon Four-Group Design
      • Stimulus Pre-test
      • Two-Group Pretest–Posttest Design
      • Two-Group Random Assignment Pretest–Posttest Design
      • Variables, Control
      • Variables, Dependent
      • Variables, Independent
      • Variables, Latent
      • Variables, Marker
      • Variables, Mediating Types
      • Variables, Moderating Types
      • Within-Subjects Design
    • Linear Approaches to Statistics
      • Analysis of Residuals
      • Bivariate Statistics
      • Bootstrapping
      • Confidence Interval
      • Conjoint Analysis
      • Contrast Analysis
      • Correlation, Pearson
      • Correlation, Point-Biserial
      • Correlation, Spearman
      • Covariance/Variance Matrix
      • Covariate
      • Cramér’s V
      • Discriminant Analysis
      • Kendall’s Tau
      • Kruskal-Wallis Test
      • Linear Regression
      • Linear Versus Nonlinear Relationships
      • Multicollinearity
      • Multiple Regression
      • Multiple Regression: Block Analysis
      • Multiple Regression: Covariates in Multiple Regression
      • Multiple Regression: Multiple R
      • Multiple Regression: Standardized Regression Coefficient
      • Partial Correlation
      • Phi Coefficient
      • Semi-Partial r
      • Simple Bivariate Correlation
    • Statistical Measurement Issues
      • Z score
      • Categorization
      • Cluster Analysis
      • Data Transformation
      • Errors of Measurement
      • Errors of Measurement: Attenuation
      • Errors of Measurement: Ceiling and Floor Effects
      • Errors of Measurement: Dichotomization of a Continuous Variable
      • Errors of Measurement: Range Restriction
      • Errors of Measurement: Regression Toward the Mean
      • Frequency Distributions
      • Heterogeneity of Variance
      • Heteroskedasticity
      • Homogeneity of Variance
      • Hypothesis Testing, Logic of
      • Intraclass Correlation
      • Mean, Arithmetic
      • Mean, Geometric
      • Mean, Harmonic
      • Measures of Central Tendency
      • Median
      • Mode
      • Mortality in Sample
      • Normal Curve Distribution
      • Relationships Between Variables
      • Sampling, Probability
      • Sensitivity Analysis
      • Significance Test
      • Simple Descriptive Statistics
      • Skewness
      • Standard Deviation and Variance
      • Standard Error
      • Standard Error, Mean
      • Statistical Power Analysis
      • Type I error
      • Type II error
      • Univariate Statistics
      • Variables, Categorical
      • Variables, Continuous
      • Variables, Defining
      • Variables, Interaction of
    • Statistical Models
      • Autoregressive, Integrative, Moving Average (ARIMA) Models
      • Binomial Effect Size Display
      • Cloze Procedure
      • Cross Validation
      • Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis
      • Curvilinear Relationship
      • Effect Sizes
      • Hierarchical Linear Modeling
      • Lag Sequential Analysis
      • Lambda
      • Logistic Analysis
      • Log-Linear Analysis
      • Margin of Error
      • Markov Analysis
      • Maximum Likelihood Estimation
      • Meta-Analysis: Estimation of Average Effect
      • Meta-Analysis: Fixed Effects Analysis
      • Meta-Analysis: Literature Search Issues
      • Meta-Analysis: Model Testing
      • Meta-Analysis: Random Effects Analysis
      • Meta-Analysis: Statistical Conversion to Common Metric
      • Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA)
      • Multivariate Statistics
      • Odds Ratio
      • Ordinary Least Squares
      • Path Analysis
      • Probit Analysis
      • Quasi-F
      • Sobel Test
      • Structural Equation Modeling
      • Time-Series Analysis

  • Understanding the Scope of Communication Research

    • Areas of Inquiry
      • Acculturation
      • African American Communication and Culture
      • Agenda Setting
      • Applied Communication
      • Argumentation Theory
      • Asian/Pacific American Communication Studies
      • Bad News, Communication of
      • Basic Course in Communication
      • Business Communication
      • Communication and Aging Research
      • Communication and Culture
      • Communication and Evolution
      • Communication and Future Studies
      • Communication and Human Biology
      • Communication and Technology
      • Communication Apprehension
      • Communication Assessment
      • Communication Competence
      • Communication Education
      • Communication Ethics
      • Communication History
      • Communication Privacy Management Theory
      • Communication Skills
      • Communication Theory
      • Conflict, Mediation, and Negotiation
      • Corporate Communication
      • Crisis Communication
      • Cross-Cultural Communication
      • Cultural Studies and Communication
      • Cyberchondria
      • Dark Side of Communication
      • Debate and Forensics
      • Development of Communication in Children
      • Diaspora
      • Digital Media and Race
      • Digital Natives
      • Dime Dating
      • Disability and Communication
      • Distance Learning
      • Educational Technology
      • Emergency Communication
      • Empathic Listening
      • English as a Second Language
      • Environmental Communication
      • Family Communication
      • Feminist Communication Studies
      • Film Studies
      • Financial Communication
      • Freedom of Expression
      • Game Studies
      • Gender and Communication
      • GeoMedia
      • GLBT Communication Studies
      • GLBT Social Media
      • Group Communication
      • Health Communication
      • Health Literacy
      • Human-Computer Interaction
      • Instructional Communication
      • Intercultural Communication
      • Intergenerational Communication
      • Intergroup Communication
      • International Communication
      • International Film
      • Interpersonal Communication
      • Intrapersonal Communication
      • Jealousy
      • Journalism
      • Language and Social Interaction
      • Latino Communication
      • Leadership
      • Legal Communication
      • Managerial Communication
      • Mass Communication
      • Massive Multiplayer Online Games
      • Massive Open Online Courses
      • Media and Technology Studies
      • Media Diffusion
      • Media Effects Research
      • Media Literacy
      • Message Production
      • Multiplatform Journalism
      • Native American or Indigenous Peoples Communication
      • Nonverbal Communication
      • Organizational Communication
      • Parasocial Communication
      • Passing
      • Patient-Centered Communication
      • Peace Studies
      • Performance Studies
      • Personal Relationship Studies
      • Persuasion
      • Philosophy of Communication
      • Politeness
      • Political Communication
      • Political Debates
      • Political Economy of Media
      • Popular Communication
      • Pornography and Research
      • Propaganda
      • Public Address
      • Public Relations
      • Reality Television
      • Relational Dialectics Theory
      • Religious Communication
      • Rhetoric
      • Rhetorical Genre
      • Risk Communication
      • Robotic Communication
      • Science Communication
      • Selective Exposure
      • Service Learning
      • Small Group Communication
      • Social Cognition
      • Social Network Systems
      • Social Presence
      • Social Relationships
      • Spirituality and Communication
      • Sports Communication
      • Strategic Communication
      • Structuration Theory
      • Surrogacy
      • Terrorism
      • Training and Development in Organizations
      • Video Games
      • Visual Communication Studies
      • Wartime Communication
    • Structure of Research Community
      • Academic Journal Structure
      • Citation Analyses
      • Communication Journals
      • Interdisciplinary Journals
      • Professional Communication Organizations (NCA, ICA, Central, etc.)

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  • Which type of hypothesis is a positive statement that covers a relationship that exists between the independent and dependent variables?

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Which type of hypothesis shows that there is a relationship between the independent and the dependent variable?

A directional hypothesis specifies the direction of the relationship between independent and dependent variables.

Which type of hypothesis states there is a relationship between variables?

An alternative hypothesis states that there is a relationship between two variables.

What relationship exists between dependent and independent variable?

Independent variables are what we expect will influence dependent variables. A Dependent variable is what happens as a result of the independent variable.

What type of hypothesis assumes that there is a change difference relationship or the independent variable has an effect on the dependent variable?

Alternative hypothesis (Ha): Independent variable affects dependent variable.