Distinguishing between 'HYPOTHESIS' and 'RESEARCH QUESTION' in legal r…

Question

Distinguishing between 'HYPOTHESIS' and 'RESEARCH QUESTION' in legal research methodology:

Accepted Answer

C. a HYPOTHESIS is a TENTATIVE ANSWER or PROPOSITION that can be tested empirically or analytically; a RESEARCH QUESTION is the FORMULATION OF WHAT THE RESEARCH SEEKS TO DISCOVER — questions guide investigation, hypotheses propose answers to test

1. RESEARCH QUESTION is the formulation of what the research seeks to discover, typically expressed as an interrogative sentence ('How does X affect Y?').
2. HYPOTHESIS is a tentative answer or proposition — a testable statement of the expected relationship ('X has a positive effect on Y' or 'A new policy of X will lead to reduction in Y').
3. In DOCTRINAL legal research, hypothesis-formation may be less central than in social science research.
4. The hypothesis must be: (i) SPECIFIC; (ii) TESTABLE; (iii) FALSIFIABLE (Popper); (iv) RELEVANT.
5. Hence option B is correct.
_Source: Legal Research Methodology + Jurisprudence — Standard research methodology_

Answer

both are identical (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology)

Answer

research questions are not needed (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology)

Answer

hypotheses cannot be tested (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology) (cf. Standard research methodology)