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the fossil record. Many hypotheses
have been proposed and tested.
When Are Hypotheses Used?
The key word is testable. That is, you will perform a test of how two variables might be related. This is
when you are doing a real experiment. You are testing variables. Usually, a hypothesis is based on
some previous observation such as noticing that in November many trees undergo color changes in
their leaves and the average daily temperatures are dropping. Are these two events connected? How?
Any laboratory procedure you follow without a hypothesis is really not an experiment. It is just an exercise
or demonstration of what is already known.
How Are Hypotheses Written?
Development Control may prevent building operations
Planning legislation may affect Development
Development may be assisted by funding
Housing expansion may be affected by demand
Enforcement action may stop unauthorised development
Change of Use may require planning permission.
Research Questions, Hypotheses and Variables Revised October 2, 2008 11:40 pm
Patrick Dunlea-Jones MSc Environmental Planning & MSc Urban Renewal Page 3
All of these are examples of hypotheses because they use the tentative word “may.” However, their
form is not particularly useful. Using the word may does not suggest how you would go about proving
it. If these statements had not been written carefully, they may not have even been hypotheses at all.
For example if we say “Housing expansion will be affected by demand,’ we are making a prediction.
Or if we write. “Enforcement Action is the result of unauthorised development, “could be a conclusion.
One way to prevent making such easy mistakes is to formalize the form of the hypothesis.
Formalized Hypotheses examples:
If planning permission is related to development, then change of use will more likely require a planning
application.
If alterations to listed buildings fall within the Listed Building and Conservation Area Act, then unauthorised
work on a listed building will automatically make it a criminal offence
Notice that these statements contain the words, if and then. They are necessary in a formalized hypothesis.
But not all if-then statements are hypotheses. For example,
“If I become a developer then I will get rich.” This is a simple https://www.51lunwen.org/customEssay/prediction. In a formalized hypothesis, a
tentative relationship is stated. For example, if the frequency of increasing land value of sites is related
to frequency of submitting successful planning applications. “Then” is followed by a prediction of what
will happen if you increase or decrease the frequency of submitting successful planning applications.
If you always ask yourself that if one thing is related to another, then you should be able to test it.
Formalized hypotheses contain two variables. One is “independent” and the other is “dependent.” The
independent variable is the one you, the “scientist” control and the dependent variable is the one that
you observe and/or measure the results.
The ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis is it forces us to think about what results we should look
for in an experiment.
6 Statement Hypothesis or Assertions - examples
The following statements are just to illustrate how hypotheses or assertions might be formulated.
Consideration of airport expansion, economics and planning - some possible hypotheses: