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Testability

Testability refers to the ability to run an experiment to test a hypothesis or theory. When designing a research hypothesis, the questions being asked by the researcher must be testable or the study becomes impossible to provide an answer to the inquiry. Testability refers not only to methods used for the investigation but also the constraints of the researcher. Some questions are unable to be answered due to limited access or inability to implement the investigation (e.g., not having the means available to conduct the research). For example, a three-year longitudinal study would be impossible for a student to complete during a semester-long class. This entry addresses some of the issues surrounding testability, such as the ability to create a testable experiment, the impact of the scientific method on testability, and ethical implications. The final section provides recommendations for creating a testable hypothesis.

Identifying Testability

The investigation of a hypothesis must have within the design an ability to evaluate the claim. Making a claim about how income will impact some relationships requires that some measure of income exists in the study. Without some measure of income, the ability to empirically evaluate any claim within the investigation does not exist. An example of testability includes choosing a variable (or multiple variables) capable of quantification or assessment to permit testing. The researcher must consider whether the measurement of some element means considering the time, money, or technology necessary to conduct the experiment. The concepts under study must be measurable with available instrumentation, or the test of the hypothesis cannot proceed.

All good or valuable scientific theories should provide a possibility of testing and be capable of falsification. The falsification of any claim means that any scientific proposition, to be scientific, requires a means to provide evidence or proof for the acceptance or rejection of the claim. A theory or hypothesis should be easily testable to ensure that the underlying theory remains viable and ultimately an acceptable means of accounting for existing data. Multiple rounds of study become required not only to support that theory or hypothesis but also to continue the process of improving, enlarging, and understanding the claims made by the theory. If parts of a theory are proven false, there exists an error in the logic of the theory and some type of repair or alternative system must be generated and then subjected to a round of testing (empirical examination).

Creating a Testable Experiment

To begin creating a research study providing some element of a testable proposition, the researcher must consider what the problem is that he or she will be studying or decide what part of the theory should or can be tested. Research could replicate a previous study (in whole or part) to demonstrate the theory maintains validity or to advance an argument about a particular claim. A study could examine gaps in the current research (e.g., such as studies only using college students, or only persons living in the United States). The next step may involve what other researchers have suggested are the next steps in a project; these suggestions often appear in the concluding sections of scholarly articles on similar topics. Taking suggestions from the future research section of previous studies is one way to justify the next step in research. Part of the argument that justifies the next step involves what conclusions existing scholars have generated from existing research. This process involves capitalizing on the thinking of others already committed to the process of research in which one is considering engaging.

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