Test Your Knowledge: Purposes, Questions, Hypotheses

Question 1

1. The study aimed to explore the experience of living with the stigma of being a suicide survivor.

PS (Purpose Statement),
RQ (Research Question),
RH (Research Hypothesis), or
NH (Null Hypothesis)

Answer 1

ANSWER: PS (Purpose Statement)
The sentence indicates that the aim or purpose of this qualitative (phenomenologic) study was to explore what it is like to be a suicide survivor.

Question 2

2. The quality of life of people with chronic hepatitis C is the same as that of people without chronic hepatitis C.

PS (Purpose Statement),
RQ (Research Question),
RH (Research Hypothesis), or
NH (Null Hypothesis)

Answer 2

ANSWER: NH (Null Hypothesis)
The statement predicts that there is no relationship between a person’s having chronic hepatitis C and his or her quality of life; this is the basis for a statistical test, not an actual research hypothesis.

Question 3

3. Does the physical health of older incarcerated men improve or deteriorate during the course of their imprisonment?

PS (Purpose Statement),
RQ (Research Question),
RH (Research Hypothesis), or
NH (Null Hypothesis)

Answer 3

ANSWER: RQ (Research Question)
This is the specific question that the researcher wanted to answer—most likely in a quantitative study in which health status would be measured over time.

Question 4

4. Smokers who participate in a nurse-led smoking cessation program are as likely to smoke 2 months later as smokers who do not participate.

PS (Purpose Statement),
RQ (Research Question),
RH (Research Hypothesis), or
NH (Null Hypothesis)

Answer 4

ANSWER: NH (Null Hypothesis)
The statement predicts that there is no relationship between a person’s participation in a smoking cessation program and his or her subsequent smoking; this is the basis for a statistical test, not the actual research hypothesis.

Question 5

5. Patients who have had diabetes for longer periods of time (10+ years) are more likely to report symptoms of acute coronary syndrome than patients with diabetes for shorter periods.

PS (Purpose Statement),
RQ (Research Question),
RH (Research Hypothesis), or
NH (Null Hypothesis)

Answer 5

ANSWER: RH (Research Hypothesis)
The statement predicts that there is a relationship between symptoms of ACS and length of time of having diabetes: It is a directional research hypothesis.