At its best, reporting is like science: you form a hypothesis, and you try to prove it.
Professor Hopkins, who spent more of his academic life as a sociologist than as a historian, preferred the deductive method, forming a hypothesis based on demographic tables, economic patterns and comparative historical studies, and then seeing how the evidence fit the hypothesis.
Upon entering class, direct students to look at the pictures (and pass them around if printed out), then respond in writing to the following prompt (written on the board prior to class): "After viewing the images of the archeological artifacts that are circulating the classroom [or shown in the slide show], form a hypothesis of what these objects are.
This process was intended to simulate the diagnostic process of forming a hypothesis for one or more observations.
Wallace, after years of collecting and observing, formed a hypothesis: "On the law which has regulated the Introduction of new species," or the 1855 "Sarawak Law".
All have different assumptions about very basic topics, such as what good data looks like, or even how to form a hypothesis.
The underlying idea is to form a hypothesis of the active and inactive transmission modes and check whether a consistent solution can be found or not.
Thus, we could form a hypothesis that the inclusion of epistemological reflection about the nature of science and the specificities of historical science when teaching about evolution can help students to understand the scientific status of evolution.
Common features of developed countries (e.g., aging population, technological advancement, high coverage of health insurance), all of which positively affect the cost of health care, lead us to form a hypothesis that health expenditure in countries of similar economic development level converge over time.
Step Two: Form a Hypothesis.
