These are all types of hypotheses

We have prepared a list with the types of hypotheses that you must know, something essential for all those who want to better understand the way in which the explanation of phenomena and events takes place, seeking to reach the truth through the greatest possible objectivity.

What are hypotheses

First of all it is essential that we know a brief definition in relation to the hypotheses, and basically, from the perspective of the scientific method, we are talking about a assumption of something that may be possible or impossible with the aim of obtaining one or more consequences.

It must be taken into account that the hypotheses are based on the information that has been previously obtained, so that it does not necessarily have to be true, but at least it does have the task of looking for a reality based on that information that we have. .

The fundamental objective of the hypothesis is to be able to relate the facts and information obtained in the best possible way, achieving an explanation focused on the reason why it occurs.

In this sense, we must begin by providing a series of reasons why a certain position is believed, so that the relationship between them is sought until a conclusion is reached.

Returning to the scientific method, the hypothesis or, more specifically, the scientific hypothesis aims to establish a conclusion that will later be verified through tests and experiments, which means that we would basically talk about the first step to reach scientific truth.

This hypothesis is based on the collection of information and data that do not necessarily have to be confirmed, but of course have the task of reaching an answer that can be supported on a scientific basis; that is, we have to reach a conclusion and demonstrate it through the scientific method.

The types of hypotheses

Once we have gotten used to the idea of ​​what the hypothesis is, the next thing that we should know are the types of hypotheses that exist in order to better understand the way in which we carry out all kinds of assessments.

In this sense, we can find two main classifications that would be the types of hypotheses based on their origin or objectives, and on the other hand, the types of hypotheses from a more general perspective.

Types of hypotheses based on origin and objectives

In this case we are going to find a total of five types of hypotheses that are in turn divided into subtypes that are important to know:

• The hypothesis according to its scope: in the first place we have the hypothesis based on its scope, in which case they can be singular or general. In the case that they are singular, we are referring to a specific fact, while the general hypotheses would be those that are repeated in a systematic way. Within the general hypotheses we have the universal hypotheses, which are those that lead us to a conclusion from a general perspective, and on the other hand we have the probabilistic general hypotheses, which obviously do not reach a universal degree but do focus on the majority.
• The hypothesis based on its origin: on the other hand we can classify the hypotheses according to their origin in which case we would have the inductive hypotheses are those that discover sequences and focus on the regularity of natural functioning. We also have the deductive ones, which are arrived at from the deductions obtained through other different hypotheses. We have the hypotheses by analogy that are the ones that are used as a metaphor, such as the fact of transferring Darwin's theories to the social and economic sphere, and finally we have the ad hoc hypotheses that are the ones that justify the failures of other hypotheses.

• The hypothesis based on its depth: in terms of their depth, we have phenomenological hypotheses, which do not seek substantive explanations but rather focus on the observation of phenomena, and representational hypotheses that seek a clear explanation.
• The hypothesis based on its natural level: Regarding the natural level, we have a large number of different types of hypotheses such as sociological, psychological, biological, physical / chemical, and so on.
• The hypothesis regarding its foundation: and finally we have the empirical hypotheses that were based on empirical data with which they have good consistency but do not have theoretical support, the theoretical hypotheses that do not have an empirical basis but do have theoretical support, and the validated hypotheses.

Types of general hypotheses

Regarding the perspective of the general hypotheses, we also have several types that are the following:

• Research hypothesis: research hypotheses are those that establish relationships between two or more variables, and there may be a total of four subclassifications within this type of hypothesis, which are the descriptive hypotheses of the value in which variables are obtained from a given context to proceed to the observation, the correlational hypotheses that are based on the variation of any of these variables, which in turn would affect other alternative variables, the hypotheses of differences between groups that are those that determine the supposed discrepancies between different groups, although not They aim to establish the reasons why these disagreements occur, and finally we have the hypotheses that establish causal relationships that affirm that there are relationships between the variables, in addition to explaining the reasons why they exist.
• Null hypotheses: Regarding null hypotheses, we are talking about those that are centered on relationships that are established between various variables in which something that is affirmed by some research hypothesis is refuted or proceeded to deny.
• Alternative hypotheses: in this case we are talking about hypotheses that include conjectures and assumptions in relation to other different explanations that were raised by hypotheses that in turn were considered null in conjunction with the investigation.
• Statistical hypothesis: finally we have this type that is basically a transformation into statistical symbols of the research hypotheses, the null hypotheses or the alternative hypotheses, so that we find two possibilities that are the statistical estimation hypotheses, which are those that focus on acquired data previously and take some of the values ​​for granted, and we also have statistical correlation hypotheses that seek to establish a statistic based on the relationship that exists between two or more variables.

These are all the types of hypotheses that you must take into account, classified according to your needs, with the aim that from now on you can better understand its operation and its characteristics to apply them in any type of hypothesis that you want to make.