Question

Suppose you're at a party at a friend's apartment. one of the guests strikes up a conversation with you about voter apathy and claims he has a pretty good idea as to why it is so high, calling it a "well-educated hypothesis." you point (much to his annoyance) out that his idea is really nothing more than a guess. in order to accurately call his idea a hypothesis, he would need to do what

Answer 1

If the party guest wants to call his guess a hypothesis, he will need to conduct a research study with valid test procedures. In this instance, a questionnaire or interview conducted on a random sample of people of different age groups, genders, socioeconomic statuses and ethnicities will provide findings that can either prove or disprove the hypothesis. 

Answer 2

Your friend is incorrect for the following reasons. In order to call his idea a hypothesis, it would need to be formed on limited evidence and could not be "well-educated". Additionally, this hypothesis would need to be falsifiable, meaning that it could be proven wrong. Finally, the hypothesis would need to be testable.