Will my Research be Inductive or Deductive?
Dr. Nancy Agens, Head,
Technical Operations, Statswork
info@statswork.com
In Brief
Practically, in all fields of research, proof
for a specific situation is not possible;
only the scientist makes evidence of that
situation and draws inference by Data
Collection. Similarly, a hypothesis cannot
be shown. Instead, it makes evidence of
being right. Now what makes sense is
establishing the evidence by inductive and
deductive research methods with past
data.
I. INTRODUCTION
Now, let us look at the topic
whether my research will be an inductive
or deductive or you can say qualitative or
quantitative? Well, the answer depends
on the objective of the study and the type
of research you conduct. If you want to
validate an existing or a known theory,
then your research is deductive. However,
if you're going to do analytical research
or develop a new approach based on the
sample data, then it is inductive. In some
situation, the study may be both deductive
and inductive depending upon the
research problem at hand and the
complexity of the problem. In this blog, I
will explain to you the difference, meaning
of inductive and deductive research with
examples, and it’s up to you to decide
whether your study comes under the
inductive or deductive category. The
statistical support services offered the
inductive research with different types.
II. INDUCTIVE RESEARCH
Inductive research makes an
inference from the logical facts. For
instance, if your friend has good taste in
food and recommends a specific recipe for
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you to try, you may think that the method
will be useful to eat (Burns, 2019). In
other words, if there is no existing
literature related to your study, and you
are developing a new theory, then your
research is inductive. The main limitation
of the Inductive Analysis is that it can
invalidate the inference and produce bias.
III. INDUCTIVE RESEARCH
INVOLVES THE FOLLOWING TYPES
1. Study by generalization – Here, the
conclusion is based on generalization.
For example, a crow cannot be white.
Therefore, it becomes a generalization
of a crow, probably in colour other
than white.
2. Research through statistical approach
– Conclusions based on the statistics
(Onwuegbuzie & Daniel, 2003).
Example: statistics say 80% of the
crows are black, therefore if you select
a random sample of crows then it
results in the same conclusion that
mostly the crows are black.
3. Research-based on a sample –
Conclusions are made on the sample
taken. Example: The crows in New
Delhi are all black; therefore, the
crows in other region are also black.
4. Research-based on analogous – Here,
the inference is based on comparable
results. Example, imagine you have
other bird similar to crow; thus, one
can say that all crows are probably
black.
5. Research-based on Prediction – Here,
we predict the inference through past
samples. For example, I went to India
last year and noted that all crows are
black; therefore if I visit again,
probably all crows are still black.
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6. Research-based on causal inference –
Here, the conclusion is based on casual
understanding
(Neuman,
2014).
Example, you know all crows are
black, if you look at some bird in a
building and you conclude that it may
be a crow.
Inductive research keeps on
updating the hypothesis of interest or the
probability every-time new inference has
been made previously.
IV. DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH
In deductive research, the inference
cannot be a false statement concerning the
past findings (Sharma, Sengupta, & Panja,
2019). That is, if a fair coin is tossed, the
outcome will be either success (head) or
failure (tail), and it cannot be inferred
partially. In other words, you conduct the
research with a known theory, develop a
research hypothesis, and test the methods
with the data collected for a valid
conclusion.
In this type of research, the
hypothesis is already framed, and we
collect evidence to support the inference.
For example, if X is equal to Y, and Z is
equal to X, then Z=Y.
Let us consider our crow example;
you concluded that all crows are black by
taking a sample often. This hypothesis is
correct in all situations. Thus, it can also
be considered as deductive research.
However, the two types of research may be
the same except for a few situations, as I
mentioned before.
V. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE
RESEARCH
The main difference between the
inductive and deductive research is that
deductive research is to test the theory
while the inductive research is to generate
the new theory from existing data.
Inductive research is qualitative and
deductive research is quantitative in
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nature. However, the study could be a
combination of both inductive and
deductive. Deductive research is based on
known facts, and inductive identifies new
patterns. Inductive research lacks the
validity of the hypothesis and produces
bias, whereas deductive reasoning yields
valid and reliable inference. Inductive
research is actually carried out from
observation
to
ideology,
whereas
deductive research is carried out from
ideology to observation. Inductive research
generalizes the results, and deductive
research provides a specific or empirical
result. Data analysis services provide the
inductive and deductive researches.
In short, inductive research is said
to be an innovation whilst the deductive
research is a discovery. Inductive proposes
a new theory, and deductive is to test the
theories with data (Vázquez-Sánchez et al.,
2019). Inductive is an experimental study
and deductive is an empirical study.
In conclusion, inductive researches
involve seeking new patterns with the
observations and make it as a theory and
deductive researches involve analysing the
data with already proven theory and test
the hypotheses of interest. Deductive
method of research yields a perfect and
valid inference than inductive research. In
addition, both inductive and deductive
research can be conducted together for
complex datasets. However, inductive
research is the most widely used Research
Methodology in practice. The key thing is
to keep in mind whether selecting the type
of research is first to understand the
purpose of the research. Identify which
method is suitable to test the hypothesis
and then draw conclusions based on the
research question.
REFERENCES
[1] Burns, S. R. (2019). Impact of Inductive and
Deductive Teaching Strategies in Art Classes.
Retrieved
from
http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/handle/10342/7451
[2] Neuman, W. L. (2014). Basics of social research.
Retrieved
from
https://www.academia.edu/download/54642680/_
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W._Lawrence_Neuman__Basics_of_Social_Resea
rch_QuBookSee.org.pdf
[3] Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Daniel, L. G. (2003).
Typology of analytical and interpretational errors
in quantitative and qualitative educational
research. Current Issues in Education, 6.
Retrieved
from
http://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/do
wnload/1609/651
[4] Sharma, S. K., Sengupta, A., & Panja, S. C. (2019).
Grounded Theory: A Method of Research Inquiry.
In Methodological Issues in Management
Research: Advances, Challenges, and the Way
Ahead.
Retrieved
from
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1
108/978-1-78973-973-220191012/full/html
[5] Vázquez-Sánchez, J. M., Fernández-Alcántara, M.,
García-Caro, M. P., Cabañero-Martínez, M. J.,
Martí-García, C., & Montoya-Juárez, R. (2019).
The concept of death in children aged from 9 to 11
years: Evidence through inductive and deductive
analysis of drawings. Death Studies, 43(8), 467–
477.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1480545
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