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Empirical research question versus normative
research question
Empirical research questions are questions based on observations and facts. This type of questions must be settled by thorough investigations and research. The main goal of this type of research questions is to inference generalization. Empirical questions range from simple to complex questions. There are three types of empirical questions; relational questions whose study involves examining the difference between variables, explanatory questions, which try to explain the causes for something and descriptive questions, which describe facts about something.
Normative research
questions are questions, which do not involve collection of facts but try to
give the subjective side of the object of study. These questions aim to promote
future developments thus improving the object of study. These types of
questions should not be confused with empirical questions since they apply philosophical
research in many cases.
Hypothesis versus Theory
Hypothesis is a testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your research paper. It attempts to explain phenomena. It is usually a proposed explanation about something. For example, a student conducting a research might make an observation about why something happens. His judgment can be right or even wrong. That is what we refer to a hypothesis.
A theory on the hand is a well-established principle that has been developed to explain certain phenomenon of the natural world and that is supported by a vast body of evidence. A theory must rise from a repeated observations and testing which involve facts, predictions and tested hypothesis for it to be widely accepted. A theory has to grow with every new piece of evidence it explains. In short, a hypothesis makes specific predictions about a specified set of circumstance while a theory predicts the events. A hypothesis is usually a speculative guess, which is yet to be tested while a theory has been extensively proven, tested and accepted by the natural world.