Wikipedia
A working hypothesis is a hypothesis that is provisionally accepted as a basis for further research in the hope that a tenable theory will be produced, even if the hypothesis ultimately fails. Like all hypotheses, a working hypothesis is constructed as a statement of expectations, which can be linked to the exploratory research purpose in empirical investigation and is often used as a conceptual framework in qualitative research.
Usage examples of "working hypothesis".
I am myself inclined, as a working hypothesis, to adopt the belief in question, and to hold that past experience only affects present behaviour through modifications of physiological structure.
You've found a motive and an explanation for the phenomenon, or at least a working hypothesis that makes as much sense as Pat's.
But his working hypothesis is that the people who set this whole situation up (prime candidates: the Dentist and his cohorts in the Bolobolo syndicate) know that he has some cool information on his hard drive.
For a while I used the obvious working hypothesis that it might be under some other ocean.
This sudden decision was more confirmation of Kingsley's working hypothesis.