Research Concepts

Inductive and Deductive Methods

Research outcomes can require either inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, or sometimes both kinds of reasoning. Each is fundamental to the scientific method.

Generally speaking, deductive research starts with a model, forms a hypothesis, gathers data to test the hypothesisl, then uses the data to conclude whether or not the model accurately describes reality. This approach to problem solving is familiar to anyone who has read a Sherlock Holmes novel, for example.

Generally speaking, inductive research reverses the process. This research starts with data collection, examines the data for patterns, forms a hypothesis and then constructs a theory. This approach to problem solving is familiar to anyone who has watched a criminal investigation show such as CSI.

Thus deductive research starts with the general and proceeds to the specific, inductive research starts with the specific and proceeds to the general.

Both kinds of research are essential to advancing knowledge on a subject. Furthermore, a research project will sometimes involve both kinds of research. Indeed, the investigators in a typical CSI episode will form a working hypothesis based on inductive research, then proceed to deductive research to test the working hypothesis. It is, after all, "all about the evidence" as Grissom frequently points out on the show.

The two methodologies are often mixed. An inductive researcher must decide what data to gather. For example, in a voter preference poll the inductive researcher would probably choose to gather data on age or gender, but would probably not gather data on shoe size. This is because even the inductive researcher has a theory that variables like "shoe size" and "voting" are unlikely to be related. Similarly, the deductive researcher will always be looking for unexpected new patterns in the data -- inductive research.