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Preferred term

null hypothesis  

Definition

  • This is a fancy term for the clear statement of ‘nothing is going on’ that is often used in formal research to provide a bench mark against which we identify interesting correlations. For example, in embarking on analysis of earnings and ethnicity data we might begin by stating the null hypothesis that ‘There is no significant correlation between earnings and ethnic identity’ and then present the results in terms of whether that hypothesis is sustained or refuted. [Source: The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology; Null Hypothesis]

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URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/null_hypothesis

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