2022 Introduction to Statistics in Research Mitchell 2nd ed

I N T R O T O R E S E A R C H : D A T A V I S U A L I Z A T I O N & C O M M O N S T A T T E S T S

Inductive Vs. Deductive Reasoning

VS

Inductive – developing a theory

Deductive – testing an existing theory

Inductive – little existing literature

Deductive – start with a theory

Table 1: Kuhlman, An Infographic of Inductive Vs. Deductive Reasoning, 2021

Inductive research has three steps: 1) observation; 2) patterns and trends; and 3) developing a theory.

Deductive research has four steps: 1) start with an existing theory; 2) formulate a hypothesis based on existing theory; 3) collect data to test the hypothesis; and 4) analyze the results (reject or accept) hypothesis.

This short video has an easy to remember example!

One Minute Economics. (2019, Mar 31). Deduction vs. Induction (Deductive/Inductive Reasoning): Definition/Meaning, Explanation and Examples. [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/JZQjDfckj9k

Any research strategy shoul d conform to the four criteria of “being logical, understandable, confirmable, and useful” (DePoy & Gitlin, 2015, p. 7). But accept the concept that there are fallacies in both deductive and inductive reasoning. An example of an inductive reasoning falla cy is found in this statement, “What happened in the past will continue to happen in the future” (Anonymous). Just think of the pandemic. Do you really thing that the way we work will revert completely back to how we worked before the pandemic?

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