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As an illustration, consider this statement of the hypothesis in a study done by Burger et al. (2001): "[S]mall, ephemeral increases in liking toward a stranger will lead to an increased likelihood of complying to a request from that person." The preceding section of the article -- the introduction -- cited numerous examples that provide evidence that this hypothesis might be supported, such as findings that repeated exposure increases interpersonal liking, or that people are more likely to donate to a cause (e.g. comply with a request for money) if they are given a "free gift" (to increase liking). The authors were careful to draw attention to the negligible, marginal character of the degree of liking -- going so far as to call it a "mindless heuristic" -- suggesting that a null outcome for this study was perfectly conceivable, if in fact the increase in liking had no direct effect on compliance with a request. And their hypothesis made fully testable experimental predictions -- using a process that has previously shown to increase the degree of liking between strangers, how much does this process affect the number of complied-with requests vs. refusals?

The methods section should follow from the hypothesis, clearly laying out the exact tests, procedures, and participants used in the study. The methods section should not be lengthy, but should allow any reader to replicate the study if they seriously question the results. Most importantly, it should walk the reader through the study step-by-step, without getting too wrapped up in the details. Data on numbers of participants and demographic variables are important for controlling sampling errors between replications and reducing the chance that results will be overextended to all populations. Any instruments or manipulations borrowed from previous literature should be cited in the Methods section.

Burger, J., Soroka, S., Gonzago, K., Murphy, E., & Somervell, E. (2001). The Effect of Fleeting Attraction on Compliance to Requests. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27: 1578-86.