Table of Contents
Definition of Null Hypothesis
(noun) In statistical analysis, an hypothesis that predicts the absence of a relationship between two variables.
Example of Null Hypothesis
- “Education has no effect on mobility.”
Null Hypothesis Pronunciation
Syllabification: null hy·poth·e·sis
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /nUHl hie-pAHth-uh-suhs/
- British English – /nUHl hie-pOth-i-sis/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /nʌl haɪˈpɑθəsəs/
- British English – /nʌl haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/
Usage Notes
- Plural: null hypotheses
- Symbol: H0
- Note: The H is italicized.
- A null hypothesis can be true but still not discount the substantive hypothesis if it is low enough.
Additional Information
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “null” and “hypothesis” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- attribute
- cohort
- control group
- correlation
- data
- dependent variable
- descriptive statistics
- independent variable
- random sample
- reliability
- statistical analysis
Cite the Definition of Null Hypothesis
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “null hypothesis.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/null-hypothesis/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
null hypothesis. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/null-hypothesis/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “null hypothesis.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/null-hypothesis/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“null hypothesis.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/null-hypothesis/>.