Use Literature to Justify Your Objectives and Hypotheses

For research scholars and academicians, forming objectives and hypotheses is a crucial step in designing meaningful and impactful studies. However, what distinguishes good research from excellent research is the ability to justify those objectives and hypotheses using existing scholarly literature. This process demonstrates academic maturity and ensures your study is grounded in theoretical and empirical evidence.

1

Understand the Purpose of Justifying Objectives and Hypotheses

2

Trace How Previous Studies Lead to Your Objectives

3

Link Specific Theories or Models to Each Hypothesis

4

Compare and Contrast Findings to Support Hypothesis Direction

5

Explicitly Map Literature to Each Objective and Hypothesis

Example:

If your objective is to explore how remote work affects team collaboration, your justification could refer to studies that discussed communication challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic but didn’t examine long-term collaboration effects.

Pro Tip:

Always ask yourself, “What do other researchers say about this issue?” before finalizing your objectives or hypotheses.

Step 1: Understand the Purpose of Justifying Objectives and Hypotheses

The first and most fundamental step is to understand why using literature for justification is not just recommended—but necessary. Research is a cumulative process.

Every study adds to a growing body of knowledge, and your contribution must logically follow from previous work.

By linking your objectives and hypotheses to the literature, you show that:

Your research is addressing an identified need.
You have contextual knowledge of your topic.
Your study is not a duplication, but an extension or refinement.

Step 2: Trace How Previous Studies Lead to Your Objectives

This step involves constructing a logical narrative that connects past research findings directly to your study’s aims.

To do this effectively:

Summarize what the literature says about your topic.
Highlight any inconsistencies, gaps, or underexplored areas.
Show how these insights lead naturally to your objectives.

Also, always cite recent and high-quality sources to maintain credibility.

Example:

Several studies (e.g., Kumar, 2019; Ali, 2020) have established that online learning increases flexibility and access. However, little is known about its impact on long-term retention of knowledge. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effect of online learning formats on knowledge retention among engineering students.

Pro Tip:

Don’t just mention what’s missing—explain why it matters. For instance, if a gap exists in studying a specific population, explain why that population is important for broader understanding.

Example:

Hypothesis: Employee autonomy improves job satisfaction.

Justification: This can be grounded in Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), which states that autonomy is a key factor influencing intrinsic motivation and satisfaction.

Pro Tip:

Theories don’t always have to be complex. Even conceptual models or frameworks (e.g., Technology Acceptance Model, Maslow’s Hierarchy) can serve as effective grounding for hypotheses.

Step 3: Link Specific Theories or Models to Each Hypothesis

Good hypotheses are not just educated guesses—they are theoretically grounded predictions.

This means you should connect your hypotheses to well-established theories or conceptual frameworks found in the literature.

Doing so provides a logical foundation for your expectations and shows that your thinking is informed by scholarly work.

When writing your justification, follow a format like:

Introduce the theory.
Explain its relevance to your topic.
State how the theory supports your hypothesis.

Step 4: Compare and Contrast Findings to Support Hypothesis Direction

Not all literature agrees, and this is actually helpful. Contradictory findings can strengthen your justification by showing that your hypothesis is necessary to resolve inconsistencies or test a relationship in a new context.

Use such contradictions to justify:

Why you are testing a certain relationship.
Why a particular hypothesis is relevant in your specific population or setting.

Also, keep your hypotheses specific. For example, instead of “There is a relationship,” say “There is a positive relationship between variable X and Y.”

Example:

While Smith (2018) found a positive correlation between screen time and anxiety, Lee (2020) found no such relationship in adolescents. These mixed findings highlight the need to explore this connection in university students.

Pro Tip:

Be objective. Don’t manipulate literature to only support your viewpoint. Honest representation of conflicting results shows integrity and depth.

Example:

Objective: To assess how peer feedback in online forums influences academic writing skills.

Justification: Studies by Zhou (2020) and Anwar (2019) found that peer feedback improves self-editing and idea clarity. However, these studies focused on spoken language tasks. Little is known about writing skill improvement in online settings, particularly in academic writing. Therefore, this objective addresses that gap.

Hypothesis: Students who participate in peer-feedback forums will show greater improvement in writing quality.

Justification: Based on constructivist learning theory, knowledge is enhanced through social interaction and feedback, supporting this hypothesis.

Pro Tip:

Label your objectives and hypotheses clearly, and always follow them with 1–2 paragraphs explaining their basis in the literature. This makes your writing transparent and persuasive.

Step 5: Explicitly Map Literature to Each Objective and Hypothesis

Now that you’ve gathered relevant studies, theories, and findings, it’s time to clearly connect each objective and hypothesis to the literature.

This means:

Writing short, focused justification paragraphs for each.
Explaining how the literature informs both what you’re studying (the objective) and what you expect to find (the hypothesis).
Ensuring that every objective and hypothesis is traceable to one or more scholarly sources.

Avoid vague connections like “Many studies support this.” Instead, be specific—name studies, mention their findings, and explain how they relate to your work.

Effectively using literature to justify your research objectives and hypotheses is a mark of scholarly rigor.

By mastering this process, academicians and research scholars can elevate their proposals, theses, or journal submissions, making them clear, compelling, and academically sound.

Always remember: Your research doesn't exist in isolation. It lives within a broader academic conversation—and the literature is your way of joining that conversation meaningfully.