Exercises

These exercises are designed to help you create and develop your public interest project. Each topic has one ore more exercises. If you have any questions about them, email us at hello@solvingpublicproblems.org

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Define Your Hypothesis

Source: Solving Public Problems, Chapter 4, p. 92
ABOUT THIS WORKSHEET:
Having defined a problem, try refining your definition by stating the problem as a hypothesis that explains why the problem is happening.Start by doing the following:

TIPS:
  • Now you will need to do further targeted background research on both evidence and practice to refine the hypothesis (see chapter 8 for more on how to do such rapid evidence reviews).
  • Use both data-analytical and human-centered approaches to test your hypothesis (see chapters 5 and 6)

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Do background research on the problem to enable you to formulate the hypothesis.

Do an initial problem definition, identifying root causes.

Formulate the problem definition as an “if . . . then” statement. The common format is: “If [cause]____________________________________________, then [effect]____________________________________________, because [rationale]____________________________________________.”

Hit save once you have completed filling out the worksheet. If you set a password, you can come back and edit it anytime!
If you like to receive your responses via email, please enter your email address below too.
Having trouble with this exercise? Get in touch with us: hello@solvingpublicproblems.org