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What is the null hypothesis?  Below is a definition of the null hypothesis.

Null Hypothesis Definition

The null hypothesis is the belief that the independent variable in an experiment will have no effect on the dependent variable.


Null Hypothesis Example

       
There are a number of possible examples of the null hypothesis.
Imagine that your research question concerns the influence of humor in ads on sales.  The null hypothesis would be the belief that humor in ads will have no effect on sales.