Hello every one ,Today i will talk about how to formulate a valid research question & hypothesis .Characteristics of good research question ( FINER criteria ) :Feasible , Interesting, Novel , Ethical , Relevant .Types of research question : Descriptive , relational , causal .Generating question from problem analysis diagram PAD :identify the problem / topic.Analyze the problem / topic .Formulate specific question.PICO Syrategy to phrasing a research question :P= patient / problemI= Intervention or exposure of interestC= ComparisonO= OutcomeCharacteristics of good hypothesis :Relevant , Focused , Testable , Measurable , addresses one issue , includes the population , includes the predicted outcome.Types of hypothesis : Null hypothesis & alternative Hypothesis .Formulating Hypothesis :Null hypothesis : There is no relation between indepndent and dependent variables .Example : There is no relation between smoking and lung cancer occurrence .Alternative hypothesis /Researcher hypothesis --- conditional , establishing the relationship between indelendent and dependent variables .Example : If smoking is related to lung cancer occurrence , then smokers have a higher risk to developing lung cancer than non - smokers .Types of Hypothesis :Simple : It predicts the relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable.Complex: It predicts the relationship between two or more independent variables and two or more dependent variables .Associative : It predicts an association between dependent and independent variables .causal : It predicts a cause - effect relationship between independent and dependent variables .Types of Variables :Independent : The variable you are manipulate / control .Dependent : The variable you observe / measure.