Once the topic has been identified you need to articulate a research question for investigation. Questions may be generated from brainstorming. Teachers may provide a question or scaffold the development of an appropriate testable hypothesis that students can adapt and investigate. Sample questions can be found here
The formulation of a hypothesis includes the identification and control of variables. A variable is any quantity or characteristic that can exist in differing amounts or types and can be measured. Values for variables may be categorical or they may be numerical, having a magnitude.
Not all variables can be easily measured. Length can be measured easily using, for example, metre rulers. Shades of colour are less easily measured and are more likely to be subjective. They might be measured by, for example, using photographic comparisons to produce a set of graduated ‘standards’ that are nominated and named for the purposes of the investigation.
Parameters should be identified as a part of your introduction. This describes the limits of your experiment and may be justified using the context of your experiment. ie. the real world focus may limit the size the of variables test.
In VCE Physics, students are required to identify independent and dependent variables. They should also understand the need to control other variables (extraneous variables including confounding variables) that may affect the integrity of the experiment and the interpretation of results.
A hypothesis is developed from a research question of interest and provides a possible explanation of a problem that can be tested
experimentally. A useful hypothesis is a testable statement that may include a prediction.
Example Hypothesis process:
In some cases, for example in exploratory or qualitative research, a research question may not lend itself to having an accompanying hypothesis; in such cases students should work directly with their research questions.