A hypothesis is a statement of what you expect to find, in terms of how the variables are related. Explain the difference between basic and applied research. Basic research attempts to discover how and why patterns develop, say between gender and type of crime engaged in, and to predict those relationships. Applied research attempts to assess actual programs, to improve them, to predict and explain how well they work. Applied research addresses the practical aspects of real programs.
Theory is the reasoning that pulls a general idea of how things are related together.