When you write about research, you need words that describe how conclusions are reached. Empirical means grounded in observation or data. An analysis is a careful examination of that data: you carry out or conduct one. A hypothesis is the testable claim the research sets out to check: you test, support or reject one, and it is usually followed by that ('the hypothesis that feedback timing affects motivation'). Both nouns take Greek plurals you will meet constantly in reading: analyses /əˈnæləsiz/ and hypotheses /haɪˈpɑθəsiz/.
Words for evidence and reasoning
empirical /ɛmˈpɪrɪkəl/ — The article makes an empirical argument based on three years of survey data.
analysis /əˈnæləsɪs/ — The committee asked for a fuller analysis of the survey data before publication.
hypothesis /haɪˈpɑθəsɪs/ — The team tested the original hypothesis using a much larger sample.
Not ""Her empirical was that feedback timing affects motivation." (empirical is an adjective, not the prediction itself)" — say ""Her hypothesis was that feedback timing affects motivation."". A hypothesis is the testable claim you start with; empirical describes evidence that is based on observation, not the claim.
Try it: The researchers needed more ______ evidence before changing the model. (empirical / paradigm / hypothesis) Answer: empirical — "Empirical" fits because evidence is gathered from observation and data, which is exactly what the word means. "Paradigm" is a model or framework of thinking, not the evidence itself, and "hypothesis" is the prediction being tested, not the supporting data.
Words for frameworks and built-in qualities
Some academic words describe the shape of an idea or a quality that comes built in. A paradigm is the dominant model of thinking in a field, and something inherent exists naturally within a thing rather than being added from outside.
paradigm /ˈpærəˌdaɪm/ — The study challenged the dominant paradigm in urban planning.
paradigm shift /ˈpærəˌdaɪm ʃɪft/ — The findings represented a genuine paradigm shift rather than a minor correction.
inherent /ɪnˈhɪrənt/ — The judge noted the inherent uncertainty in eyewitness evidence.
Not ""The data was very paradigm-shifting." (you cannot be more or less paradigm-shifting, so 'very' does not fit)" — say ""The findings represented a paradigm shift."". Paradigm shift is the noun collocation academic writing reaches for. The adjective paradigm-shifting does exist, but it belongs to journalism and takes no very: a model either shifts or it does not.
Try it: There are ______ risks in any investment that no strategy can fully remove. (inherent / empirical / paradigm) Answer: inherent — "Inherent" fits because the risks exist naturally within the investment as a built-in feature. "Empirical" means based on observation or data, which does not describe a built-in quality, and "paradigm" is a model of thinking, not a property of the risks.
Try it: Their ______ of the regional spending data was persuasive but incomplete. (analysis / hypothesis / paradigm) Answer: analysis — "Analysis" is the detailed examination of data, which is what was persuasive but incomplete here. "Hypothesis" is the prediction you test rather than the examination of results, and "paradigm" is the overarching model of thinking, not a piece of work on one dataset.