Hi Chaitra,
No - there can never be a null hypothesis in qualitative research. They are purely the domain of certain approaches in quantitative research. Qualitative research uses 'questions' instead. You cannot statistically test the narrative data that emerges from qualitative data collection. Answer from Dean Whitehead on researchgate.net
Quora
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Does qualitative research have null hypothesis? - Quora
Answer: Depends on your definition of the null hypothesis - whether the traditional / classical definition or something close. In the broadest most liberal sense of the term, we could establish assumptions in qualitative research that could be interpreted as a form of “null hypothesis.” For examp...
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Hi Chaitra,
No - there can never be a null hypothesis in qualitative research. They are purely the domain of certain approaches in quantitative research. Qualitative research uses 'questions' instead. You cannot statistically test the narrative data that emerges from qualitative data collection.
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Hi Chaitra,
As Dean has said, you are working within another paradigm when dealing with qualitative research -- one that isn't asking for predictions or that employs (generally) predictive statistics. In quantitative or experimental research, interpretation is based on statistical logic whereby large numbers of dependent variables are collected from a randomly selected sample of subjects, the data are recorded, and predictive statistics are employed to determine how significant the findings are and how appropriate it is to apply these findings to cases outside of the experimental or quasi-experimental setting. In qualitative research, however, the significance and utility of the findings are based on the awareness and operation of underlying principles/mechanisms that give rise to complex observable variables (See the logic from Glaser & Strauss, or Silverman or Morgan's work. Whitehead has several chapters since 2012 dealing with this issue also). Instead of statistical representativeness or mathematical (statistical) logic, therefore, the issue of practical or clinical utility or extension (i.e., can the findings be applied to other subjects or populations) are couched in terms of the generalizability of cases to theoretical (or underlying operational) propositions rather than to statistical populations or universes (See Bryman, 1988 among others on this point). That is, in qualitative research the application of findings is not determined by the number of subjects or the mathematical probabilities regarding the recurrence of behavior but, rather, by an understanding of the underlying themes, mechanisms and bases for human social action --explication (See Silverman, 1993). Once understanding is achieved through qualitative methods, these foundational mechanisms are (at times) extended to other instances and individuals and predictions and generalizations might be made. This is the ultimate description and understanding of social phenomena as procedural affairs. Again, the goal is explication not predictability...
Medium
medium.com › manipande › why-researchers-should-avoid-hypothesis-validation-in-qualitative-research-21febc12cd42
Why Researchers Should Avoid Hypothesis Validation in Qualitative Research | by Mani Pande | UXR-manipande | Medium
October 29, 2024 - The Hawthorne study demonstrates how a focus on confirming a hypothesis in qualitative research can lead to misattribution of effects to explain a phenomena and neglect contradictory evidence that does not support the hypothesis. I learned about the Hawthorne effect as a Sociology undergrad and to this day I believe that it’s a great example of how formulating a hypothesis in qualitative research can lead most importantly to confirmation bias, and restrict the exploratory nature of qualitative research.
What’s the difference between a research hypothesis and a statistical hypothesis?
A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (“x affects y because …”). · A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses. In a well-designed study, the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.
scribbr.com
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Null & Alternative Hypotheses | Definitions, Templates & Examples
What is hypothesis testing?
Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics. It is used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses, by calculating how likely it is that a pattern or relationship between variables could have arisen by chance.
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Null & Alternative Hypotheses | Definitions, Templates & Examples
What symbols are used to represent null hypotheses?
The null hypothesis is often abbreviated as H0. When the null hypothesis is written using mathematical symbols, it always includes an equality symbol (usually =, but sometimes ≥ or ≤).
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Null & Alternative Hypotheses | Definitions, Templates & Examples
Open Research Europe
open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu › articles › 5-64
Qualitative hypotheses | Open Research Europe
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SAGE Publications
us.sagepub.com › sites › default › files › upm-binaries › 22782_Chapter_7.pdf pdf
C H A P T E R S E V E N Research Questions and Hypotheses I
Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 220–235). Thousand Oaks, CA: ... Tuckman, B. W. (1999). Conducting educational research (5th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace. Bruce Tuckman provides an entire chapter on constructing hypotheses. He identi- fies the origin of hypotheses in deductive theoretical positions and in inductive obser- vations. He further defines and illustrates both alternative and null ...
National University
resources.nu.edu › statsresources › hypothesis
Null & Alternative Hypotheses - Statistics Resources - LibGuides at National University
Null Hypothesis: H0: Experience on the job has no impact on the quality of a brick mason’s work. Alternative Hypothesis: Ha: The quality of a brick mason’s work is influenced by on-the-job experience. ... Next: One-Tail vs. Two-Tail >> ... Doctoral Center Institutional Review Board Advanced Research Center Institutional Repository NU Commons
PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC8519469
Why we habitually engage in null-hypothesis significance testing: A qualitative study - PMC
Numerous publications have addressed problems associated with NHST and p-values. Arguably the most important drawback is the fact that NHST is a form of indirect or inverse inference: researchers usually want to know if the null or alternative hypothesis can be accepted and use NHST to conclude either way.
MDPI
mdpi.com › 2304-6775 › 7 › 1 › 22
Visually Hypothesising in Scientific Paper Writing: Confirming and Refuting Qualitative Research Hypotheses Using Diagrams
March 20, 2019 - Qualitative researchers most times work with it unstated (see Holloway and Galvin [68]), while few times they have it categorically stated as a hypothesis (see Chigbu [16]). It is also possible that if the hypotheses of a research study are qualitative, the researcher may use both quantitative and qualitative data to prove, disprove, confirm, nullify, refute or verify the hypotheses.
Researcher.Life
researcher.life › home › what is a research hypothesis: how to write it, types, and examples
What is a research hypothesis: How to write it, types, and examples | Researcher.Life
February 6, 2025 - Review the literature: Conduct an in-depth review of the existing literature related to the research problem to grasp the current knowledge and gaps in the field. Formulate a clear and testable hypothesis: Based on the research question, use existing knowledge to form a clear and testable hypothesis. The hypothesis should state a predicted relationship between two or more variables that can be measured and manipulated. Improve the original draft till it is clear and meaningful. State the null hypothesis: The null hypothesis is a statement that there is no relationship between the variables you are studying.
Uconn
researchbasics.education.uconn.edu › home › null and alternative hypotheses
Null and Alternative Hypotheses | Educational Research Basics by Del Siegle
September 5, 2015 - By tradition, we try to disprove (reject) the null hypothesis. We can never prove a null hypothesis, because it is impossible to prove something does not exist. We can disprove something does not exist by finding an example of it. Therefore, in research we try to disprove the null hypothesis.
Statistics Solutions
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Research Hypotheses - Statistics Solutions
July 4, 2025 - It is also appropriate to use the ... that the null hypothesis forms the basis of all statistical tests of significance. A compromise position is to present a research hypothesis which states a possible direction for the relationship but softens the causal argument by using language such as “tends to” or “in general.” · Hypotheses in qualitative studies serve ...
Statistics Solutions
statisticssolutions.com › home › constructing hypotheses in quantitative research
Constructing Hypotheses in Quantitative Research - Statistics Solutions
May 16, 2025 - Null hypothesis: The presence of a mentoring relationship does not influence first-generation students’ intention to remain at their university.
Penn State Statistics
online.stat.psu.edu › stat100 › lesson › 10 › 10.1
10.1 - Setting the Hypotheses: Examples | STAT 100
Null Hypothesis: There is no sex effect regarding those who eat vegetarian meals on a regular basis (population percent of females who eat vegetarian meals on a regular basis = population percent of males who eat vegetarian meals on a regular basis or pfemales = pmales).
San Jose State University
sjsu.edu › people › fred.prochaska › courses › ScWk240 › s1 › ScWk-240-Slides-for-Session-9---Intro-to-Qualitative-Research.pdf pdf
Introduction to Qualitative Research ScWk 240 – Week 9 Slides 1
In Qualitative Research: We do not test hypothesis or previous theories. We may try to develop new theories based on what · happens in specific situations. We do not try to generalize our findings. We rely on data collected from interviews, observations, and content ...
PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC9039193
A Practical Guide to Writing Quantitative and Qualitative Research Questions and Hypotheses in Scholarly Articles - PMC
To illustrate this, we provide some examples of ambiguous research question and hypotheses that result in unclear and weak research objectives in quantitative research (Table 6)16 and qualitative research (Table 7)17, and how to transform these ambiguous research question(s) and hypothesis(es) into clear and good statements.