Formulating Hypotheses for Different Study Designs


Misra D.P. Gasparyan A.Y. Zimba O. Yessirkepov M. Agarwal V. Kitas G.D.
December 2021Korean Academy of Medical Science

Journal of Korean Medical Science
2021#36Issue 50

Generating a testable working hypothesis is the first step towards conducting original research. Such research may prove or disprove the proposed hypothesis. Case reports, case series, online surveys and other observational studies, clinical trials, and narrative reviews help to generate hypotheses. Observational and interventional studies help to test hypotheses. A good hypothesis is usually based on previous evidence-based reports. Hypotheses without evidence-based justification and a priori ideas are not received favourably by the scientific community. Original research to test a hypothesis should be carefully planned to ensure appropriate methodology and adequate statistical power. While hypotheses can challenge conventional thinking and may be controversial, they should not be destructive. A hypothesis should be tested by ethically sound experiments with meaningful ethical and clinical implications. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has brought into sharp focus numerous hypotheses, some of which were proven (e.g. effectiveness of corticosteroids in those with hypoxia) while others were disproven (e.g. ineffectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin)

Hypotheses , Pandemic , Research ethics , Study design

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Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India
Departments of Rheumatology and Research and Development, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (Teaching Trust of the University of Birmingham, UK), Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, United Kingdom
Department of Internal Medicine #2, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
Centre for Epidemiology versus Arthritis, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology
Departments of Rheumatology and Research and Development
Department of Internal Medicine #2
Department of Biology and Biochemistry
Centre for Epidemiology versus Arthritis

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