Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41113946›Full record

ArticleAddiction & health2025

Research Hypothesis: A Brief History, Central Role in Scientific Inquiry, and Characteristics.

Asghar Ghasemi, Farhad Hosseinpanah, Khosrow Kashfi, Zahra Bahadoran

Abstract readEditorial
In one paragraph

Article in Addiction & health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Asghar GhasemiEndocrine Physiology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Molecular Biology, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6867-2151
Farhad HosseinpanahObesity Research Center, Research Institute for Metabolic and Obesity Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5235-9451
Khosrow KashfiDepartment of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City University of New York School of Medicine, New York, NY 10031, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4060-7283
Zahra BahadoranMicronutrient Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Disorders, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5138-0045

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: A well-constructed hypothesis is central to scientific knowledge, guiding the research process from a problem to its potential solution. This paper aims to provide a brief history of the scientific hypothesis, emphasize its central role in hypothesis-driven research, and outline the characteristics of a well-formulated scientific hypothesis. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of philosophical and scientific literature to examine the evolution of hypothesis formulation within the hypothetico-deductive (HD) framework, with emphasis on Karl Popper's principles of falsifiability and deduction. Findings: The HD method remains the cornerstone of scientific inquiry, with hypothesis formulation serving as a critical link between theory and empirical testing. The 5E rule, which is a framework that defines an effective research hypothesis as Explicit, Evidence-based, Ex-ante, Explanatory, and Empirically testable, ensures that hypotheses are clear, relevant, and actionable within scientific investigation. Conclusion: Despite its importance, hypothesis formulation is often underemphasized in modern biomedical research, where many struggle to construct well-defined, testable hypotheses.

Indexed as

HistoryHypothesisResearchScientific method

Identifiers

PMID41113946
PMCPMC12534748

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.