Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for an observed phenomenon, framed so that it makes a testable and, ideally, reproducible prediction about what should be observed if the explanation is correct. In the hypothetico-deductive method, a researcher formulates a hypothesis, deduces specific predictions from it, and then designs observations or experiments to check whether those predictions hold, revising or discarding the hypothesis when they do not. A hypothesis is distinct from a scientific theory: a hypothesis is a single, still provisional proposition awaiting testing, while a theory is a broader, well substantiated explanatory framework that has been repeatedly and independently supported by evidence over time, though the two words are often used loosely and interchangeably outside careful scientific usage.