Taking my cue from the thinking or suggestions some very enlightened people (e.g., Glenn Shafer, David Schum), in the past I have said (effectively) that standard probability theory cannot get into gear before and until there are defined hypotheses; one cannot speak meaningfully of the probability of a hypothesis {H|not-H} unless and until one has a hypothesis such as H in hand a/k/a in mind.
By surfing on the web I have found another phrase that describes the situation in which the investigator is engaged in hypothesis formation rather than hypothesis assessment:
sample space ignoranceSee Michael James Smithson, Human Judgment and Imprecise Probabilities at SIPTA, Documentation on Imprecise Probability
In probability theory parlance, the sample space is the canvas on which are painted the possibilities that are to be assessed.
The point of this canvas metaphor: in some forms of investigation the possibilities that ought to be in play have not yet been drawn on the canvas, on the sample space, and investigators sometimes must busy themselves with activities that may lead to the drawing of lines that form pictures that may be worth both further thought, deliberation, investigation, and assessment.