Inductive and Deductive Research
Various types of scientific research use different approaches. The main of them are inductive and deductive ones. There may also be a combination of both for more effective outcomes. These scientific approaches are different.
Inductive research involves developing a theory that does not exist yet. It presents the facts first and develops the conclusion based on them. Therefore, you move from concrete observations and make conclusions on the basis of them when you write a paper.
Deductive reasoning is based on testing some theories that already exist. It presents a thesis statement first, and then you move from the overall idea or concepts to its specific parts that need to be tested and/or observed.
If you are doing a large research project, you can successfully combine both approaches and obtain great results.
Inductive Approach to Research
When there is no information on the topic, or the number of sources on it is rather limited, you use the inductive approach. It consists of three parts:
- Primary observation
✔️ Cats A and B prefer fish to meat. - Pattern observation
✔️ All cats observed prefer fish to meat. - Theory development
✔️ All cats in the world prefer fish to meat.
But!
Such an approach has its limitations. The conclusion which is made on its basis can never get practical proof. Or it can be doubted or recognized as invalid easily when more evidence is received.
Example:
Even if you have observed 1000 cats who prefer fish to meat, you can never prove that the 1001st cat will also prefer fish. It may like meat better.
It means that the more facts and datasets you have received, the more reliable conclusion you can make.
Deductive Approach to Research
If you have studied some theory properly (or you have already developed it by using an inductive approach), you can start testing it. Without any theoretical basis, you cannot apply the deductive approach to your research. Deductive reasoning involves the four stages:
- Analyzing the existing theory.
✔️ All cats in the world prefer fish to meat. - Formulating a hypothesis on the basis of this theory.
✔️ All domestic cats prefer fish to meat. - Gathering data to test this hypothesis.
✔️ Observe a lot of domestic cats to check whether they prefer fish to meat. - Analyzing the results obtained to see whether the data rejects or supports the hypothesis.
✔️ 10 out of 25 domestic cats preferred fish to meat. - The hypothesis is rejected.
All 100 domestic cats I have observed prefer fish to meat. - The hypothesis is supported.
But!
The approach also has its limitations. The conclusion made based on inductive reasoning can be true only if you have set the premises correctly at the beginning of your inductive approach application and when the terms for applying them are quite clear.
- All cats prefer fish to meat. (premise)
- Dora is a cat. (premise)
- Dora prefers fish to meat. (conclusion)
We can assume that our conclusion is true on the grounds that we have observed or installed initially. Nevertheless, if the first premise is not correct (and we can almost never check its correctness), the entire conclusion that Dora can prefer fish to meat is not quite reliable.
The Difference Between the Two Approaches
As we can see, the difference between the inductive and deductive approaches to research is obvious. The first one goes from details to the overall theory, and the second one works vice versa - it starts with the theoretical statements and then tests them in practice. The deductive approach is aimed at checking whether the theory presented is right or wrong.
Another difference is that the deductive approach usually starts with a hypothesis while the inductive reasoning deals with the research questions to narrow down the scope of the study.
The deductive approach is focused on causality but, with the help of the inductive approach, we explore new things or look at the already existing facts from a different point of view.
When we use deductive reasoning, we usually also do qualitative research. The deductive approach is closely connected with quantitative research and analysis.
Grounded Theory
This theory or approach was put forward by Strauss and Glaser. It is based on the combination of inductive and deductive approaches.
What is it about?
A researcher here starts with a fully open mind without any predetermined theories or ideas. They have pure data only and the aim is to generate a theory based on them.
Only after the new theory has been formulated, a researcher needs to look through other similar theories and determine where the new theory can be positioned among them.
The grounded theory is rather challenging to use. It demands an extensive examination of facts and data as well as analyzing them many times to formulate a new theory.
Final Thoughts
Now, when you have seen what the inductive and deductive approaches to academic research are and where they are used, you may start applying them. However, you need to think carefully about how to use them properly to get the best results. Often, especially in larger scientific projects, the inductive (developing a theory) and deductive (testing the existing theory) are combined.
Inductive reasoning is often followed by a deductive approach to support or invalidate the resulting conclusion. Though, if the research project is larger, you may start with gathering the information in a deductive way, then make a theoretical conclusion based on it, and after that try to test this conclusion before it becomes a theory.
That is the most successful way of writing your research paper. The most important thing you need to remember when choosing either the inductive or deductive approaches is the overall purpose of your study. Then, consider the methods you will be using for your further research work and the requirements for your academic paper provided by your institution or program.