# Action Research Questions and Hypotheses, With Examples

How to write action research questions and null and alternative hypotheses: DepEd's five criteria, directional vs nondirectional, and a corrected answer key.

This is the Markdown copy of [Action Research Questions and Hypotheses, With Examples](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-questions-hypotheses), an article on the NASH Reviewer Blog by Mark Anthony Llego, published Oct 28, 2026, updated Nov 4, 2026. Topics: Action research, Learning outcomes. NASH Reviewer is an independent practice platform not affiliated with DepEd, BHROD, or NEAP.

The research question is the center of an action research: the Department of Education's (DepEd) Action Research Toolkit calls it the question "where the research is centered in", which "guides all stages of inquiry". In DepEd's scoring guide for action research proposals, the research questions carry 30 of the 100 points, more than any other single part. This guide explains how to write a good action research question and its hypotheses, following section 2.3 of the toolkit, with examples built on real problems from DepEd data and a corrected version of the toolkit's exercise answer key.

It is written for teachers drafting an action research proposal, for school heads and research coordinators who review them, and for teachers preparing for the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH).

## Key points

- **Five criteria.** A good action research question is clearly stated, significant, ethical, feasible, and leads to making an action.
- **Name the intervention and the change.** The toolkit asks that the question "mention the intervention you will use and the outcome in terms of change or improvement"; DepEd's scoring guide gives full points to questions that convey "the desired change or improvement".
- **Quantitative questions get two hypotheses.** A null hypothesis (no difference or no relationship) and a research, or alternative, hypothesis. They may be nondirectional ("differ") or directional ("higher").
- **Qualitative questions get a working hypothesis,** a tentative expectation, not a pair to test.
- **The toolkit's answer key has slips.** Its exercise marks a pretest-posttest question as qualitative, gives hypotheses for another that compare the wrong groups, and leaves a third half-filled; corrected versions are below.

## Topic, problem, question and hypothesis

The toolkit's facilitator session on generating topics distinguishes the research topic, problem, purpose and questions, steps that are easy to blur. With the hypotheses added:

| Step | Example |
|:--|:--|
| Topic | Beginning reading in Grade 1 |
| Problem | Many of my Grade 1 learners are still at the Low Emerging level in Mother Tongue reading |
| Purpose | To find out whether more daily practice with letter sounds helps them move up |
| Research question | Does a daily letter-sound routine improve the letter-sound knowledge of Grade 1 Low Emerging readers more than regular lessons? |
| Hypotheses | Null: the mean gains of the two groups are equal. Research: the mean gains differ. |

The problem comes from your own class or school, ideally with evidence. The question turns it into something your study can answer, and the hypotheses state what your data will test.

## The five criteria for a good action research question

The toolkit gives five criteria, each with an example to rewrite. Its suggested rewrites:

| Criterion | Weak question | Better question |
|:--|:--|:--|
| Clearly stated | Does using the internet help develop language skills? | Does using a word processor help improve students' spelling and grammar skills? |
| Significant | Do wooden chairs sustain pupils' attention span? | Do audio-visual presentations of lessons increase pupils' attention span? |
| Ethical | Does exposing students to nicotine fumes affect their memory? | Does the use of mnemonic devices enhance students' memory skills? |
| Feasible | Does the use of tablets help High School students in all levels do better in Science? | Does the use of tablets boost Grade 10 students' learning in Physics? |
| Leads to making an action | Are older children more responsible than younger ones? | Does the use of graphic organizers foster students' interest and achievement in Filipino? |

What each criterion asks:

- **Clearly stated:** easily understood, with the variables named. "Language skills" becomes spelling and grammar.
- **Significant:** it "should contribute to the body of knowledge" and benefit learners, teachers and schools.
- **Ethical:** it respects participants' dignity and rights and creates no harm; see [DepEd Action Research Ethics: Consent, Assent and Privacy](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-ethics-deped).
- **Feasible:** doable "in terms of resources, time, as well as researcher's skills". One teacher can study one grade, not every level.
- **Leads to making an action:** it tries out an intervention to improve teaching or learning. A question that only compares groups that already differ, such as older and younger children, belongs to a study of the situation, not an action research.

## Quantitative and qualitative questions

The toolkit, following Creswell (2012), distinguishes two types:

- **Quantitative questions** "ask about quantitative variables and require numerical data", such as test scores, attendance or the number of incidents. Example from the toolkit: *Is there a significant difference between students' attendance before and after the feeding program?* (independent variable: the feeding program; dependent variable: attendance; participants: Grade 1 pupils).
- **Qualitative questions** "ask for descriptions and narratives", such as how learners experience an intervention. Example: *In what way/s does group work help students develop social skills?*

A study can have both: a main quantitative question and a secondary qualitative one. The toolkit allows up to three secondary questions, in logical order.

## Hypotheses: null and research

A research hypothesis is "the tentative answer to the research question", the statement the researcher wants to support. In quantitative research it comes with a **null hypothesis**, its opposite, which the test tries to reject.

| | Null hypothesis (H₀) | Research or alternative hypothesis (H₁) |
|:--|:--|:--|
| Nondirectional | The posttest scores of the experimental and control groups are equal. | The posttest scores of the two groups are not equal. |
| Directional | The posttest scores of the experimental group are lower than or equal to those of the control group. | The posttest scores of the experimental group are higher than those of the control group. |

Use a **nondirectional** pair unless you have a strong reason, stated before collecting data, to expect a direction. A nondirectional pair is tested with a two-tailed test, a directional pair with a one-tailed test; [Paired and Independent t-Test in Excel for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/t-test-excel-action-research) shows both in Excel.

Many Philippine proposals write hypotheses as "There is no significant difference between...". The form is widely used and DepEd's toolkit uses it too. Strictly, a hypothesis is about the groups' true means ("the means are equal"), and "significant" describes the test result, so either form is acceptable as long as the test matches it.

For **qualitative** questions, the hypothesis is only a working one: "We state what we expect to happen, but it is only a working hypothesis." The study ends with what the data show, which may differ.

## The toolkit's exercise, with a corrected answer key

The toolkit's practice exercise asks readers to classify ten questions by the data they need, whether they can be answered yes or no, and whether they are directional, and to write their hypotheses. Its answer key has three slips, corrected here:

| Question | Data | Yes or no | Direction | Hypotheses (corrections in bold) |
|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|
| 1. Does achievement increase after implementation of the intervention? | Quantitative | Yes | Directional | H₀: posttest achievement is lower than or equal to pretest achievement. H₁: posttest achievement is higher. |
| 2. How do students regard strategic intervention materials (SIM)? | Qualitative | No | — | Working hypothesis: students enjoy lessons presented with SIM. |
| 3. What thinking skills are developed by computer games? | Qualitative | No | — | Working hypothesis: strategic problem-solving and forecasting are among the skills developed. |
| 4. Is the posttest score significantly higher than the pretest score? | Quantitative | Yes | Directional | H₀: posttest scores are lower than or equal to pretest scores. H₁: posttest scores are higher. |
| 5. Is modular instruction helpful for physically-challenged students? | Quantitative | Yes | Nondirectional | **H₀: the achievement of physically-challenged students taught with modular instruction equals that of physically-challenged students taught without it. H₁: the two differ.** The toolkit's key compares "regular students exposed to modular instruction" with "physically-challenged students attending regular classes", which changes two things at once. |
| 6. Does journal writing help students develop English proficiency? | Qualitative (as the key treats it) | — | — | Working hypothesis: journal writing helps students apply what they learned about grammar. It could also be studied quantitatively, with proficiency scores. |
| 7. Is there a significant difference between the posttest scores of the experimental and control groups? | Quantitative | Yes | Nondirectional | H₀: no difference between the groups' posttest scores. H₁: there is a difference. |
| 8. Do homeroom sessions on bullying reduce the incidence of the behavior in school? | Quantitative | Yes | Directional | H₀: incidence after the sessions is the same as or higher than before. H₁: incidence after is lower. |
| 9. Are the posttest scores higher than the pretest scores after applying ICT-based instruction? | **Quantitative** | **Yes** | **Directional** | **H₀: posttest scores are lower than or equal to pretest scores. H₁: posttest scores are higher.** The toolkit's key marks this question qualitative and gives a qualitative hypothesis about students managing their own learning. |
| 10. Is cooperative learning effective in improving students' problem-solving skills in Mathematics? | **Quantitative** | Yes | **Directional** | H₀: problem-solving skills do not improve after cooperative learning. H₁: they improve. The toolkit's key leaves the data type and direction blank. |

## Examples built on real problems

These examples start from problems that public DepEd data document, so a teacher can cite the data in the rationale. [Action Research and Thesis Topics on Reading (CRLA)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-topics-reading-crla) and [Action Research and Thesis Topics on Classroom Shortage](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-topics-classroom-shortage) list more.

**1. An experimental question (two groups).** *Does a daily letter-sound routine improve the letter-sound knowledge of Grade 1 Low Emerging readers more than regular lessons?*
H₀: the mean gains of the routine group and the comparison group are equal. H₁: the mean gains differ. Test: independent t-test on the gains.

**2. A pretest-posttest question (one group).** *Do Grade 3 learners' English oral reading fluency scores change after ten weeks of repeated reading?*
H₀: mean words correct per minute are equal before and after. H₁: they differ. Test: paired t-test. (Add a comparison group if you can; [Pretest-Posttest Design and Regression to the Mean](https://nash.com.ph/blog/pretest-posttest-design-regression-to-the-mean) explains why.)

**3. A correlational question (assessing the situation).** *Is there a relationship between the share of struggling readers in Grade 1 and in Grade 3 across the schools of our division?*
H₀: there is no correlation. H₁: there is a correlation. Test: Pearson's r or Spearman's rho; see [Pearson Correlation in Excel for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/pearson-correlation-excel-action-research).

**4. A causal-comparative question (assessing the situation).** *Are urban schools in our division more likely than rural schools to have a classroom shortage?*
H₀: the share of schools with a shortage is the same in urban and rural schools. H₁: the shares differ. Test: chi-square; see [Chi-Square Test in Excel for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/chi-square-test-excel-action-research).

**5. A qualitative question.** *How do Grade 5 learners and their teacher experience learning in a makeshift classroom, and which changes make it easier to learn?*
Working hypothesis: heat and noise make it hard to concentrate, and small changes to seating and routines help. Method: observation and interviews; see [Interview and FGD Guide Questions for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/interview-fgd-guide-action-research).

**6. A survey question (assessing the situation).** *To what extent do Grades 1 to 3 teachers use the CRLA results to group learners for reading instruction?*
Descriptive; no hypothesis is needed. Method: a Likert-type questionnaire; see [Weighted Mean and Likert Scale Interpretation in Excel](https://nash.com.ph/blog/weighted-mean-likert-scale-interpretation).

## A checklist for your question

- Does it name the learners (grade, section), the intervention and the outcome?
- Can you collect the data it needs within the research period and with your resources?
- Does each secondary question follow from the main one?
- Does each quantitative question have a null and a research hypothesis, and do they match the test you plan?
- Is the direction decided before you collect data?
- Would answering it lead you to keep, change or drop a teaching practice?

## Common mistakes

- **A question with no intervention.** "What are the reading difficulties of Grade 3 learners?" describes a problem; it is not an action research question.
- **Two questions in one.** "Does the strategy improve scores and attitudes?" needs two questions.
- **A yes-or-no question with no measure.** "Is the strategy effective?" needs to say effective at what, and measured how.
- **Hypotheses that do not match the design.** A one-group pretest-posttest compares the same learners twice; its hypotheses should too.
- **Choosing the direction after seeing the data.** Decide in the proposal.
- **Too broad for one teacher.** All grade levels, all subjects or the whole division is rarely feasible for action research.

## Frequently asked questions

### What makes a good action research question?

DepEd's Action Research Toolkit lists five criteria: clearly stated, significant, ethical, feasible, and leading to making an action. A good question names the learners, the intervention and the change you expect, such as "Does a daily letter-sound routine improve the letter-sound knowledge of Grade 1 Low Emerging readers?"

### What is the difference between a null and an alternative hypothesis?

The null hypothesis states that there is no difference or no relationship; the alternative, or research, hypothesis states that there is. A statistical test checks whether the data are unlikely enough under the null hypothesis to reject it.

### What is a directional hypothesis?

One that states which way a difference goes, such as "the posttest scores will be higher than the pretest scores". A nondirectional hypothesis only states that they will differ. Directional hypotheses use one-tailed tests and must be decided before collecting data.

### Do qualitative action research questions need hypotheses?

Not in the statistical sense. The toolkit describes a "working hypothesis", a tentative expectation; the study ends with what the data show, which the toolkit calls a grounded theory.

### How many research questions should an action research have?

One main question, and the toolkit allows at most three secondary questions, arranged logically.

## More on DepEd research

- Start here: [DepEd Action Research Guide: From Topic to Report](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-action-research-guide)
- [DepEd Action Research Proposal Format, With a Sample](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-proposal-format)
- [Paired and Independent t-Test in Excel for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/t-test-excel-action-research)
- [Pearson Correlation in Excel for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/pearson-correlation-excel-action-research)
- [Chi-Square Test in Excel for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/chi-square-test-excel-action-research)
- [Interview and FGD Guide Questions for Action Research](https://nash.com.ph/blog/interview-fgd-guide-action-research)
- [Thematic Analysis for Action Research: Steps and Sample](https://nash.com.ph/blog/thematic-analysis-action-research)
- [Action Research Titles by Subject, With Data and Scores](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-titles-by-subject)
- [Basic Education Research Agenda (BERA): DO 39, s. 2016](https://nash.com.ph/blog/basic-education-research-agenda)

## Sources

- Department of Education and the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program. (2019). *Action Research Toolkit: Teacher's Guide*, section 2.3 (formulating and evaluating action research questions and hypotheses) and its answer key; *Facilitator's Guide*, sessions 2.2 and 2.3. With support from the Australian Government.
- [DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2017, Research Management Guidelines](https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DO_s2017_016.pdf), Annex 4.b.
- Creswell, J. W. (2012). *Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research* (fourth edition). Pearson.

*Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with DepEd.*

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