Deductive and Inductive Research

2012 Words9 Pages
Deductive and inductive research (a) There are different types of methodologies that researchers utilise in the course of their research. Deductive research is sometimes referred to as the ‘top-down’ approach. This is because the research method used involves starting from the general to the specific. The researcher starts with a theory on a specific topic, developing into a hypothesis and then goes through a series of tests (Ridenour, Benz and Newman, 2008). From these tests, an observation is then made and finally, a conclusion is drawn. This conclusion is based on facts. By association, quantitative research is sometimes linked with deductive research in the results you get are facts and statistics (Newman, 2000). Inductive research on the other hand works the other way. The research starts from the specific to generalizations. This approach is sometimes called the ‘bottom-up, approach. From observations, the researcher is able to observe patterns, formulate hypotheses and then make a theory based on these observations and patterns (Ritchie and Lewis, 2003). This approach is not based on facts because it involves a level of uncertainty. Here, qualitative research is associated with inductive research and this is because the analyses are based on unstructured facts such as responses from open-ended surveys. Both deductive and inductive research methods have their own strengths and weaknesses. The best solution in doing a research on public perceptions about having a nuclear plant in the said location would be to have a combination of both. This would ensure that we get the best of both methods and would provide a more accurate picture I believe (Saunders et el, 2007). Using the deductive method, we could start a survey asking the local population whether or not they would support the idea of having a power plant in their area. From there, we could analyse

More about Deductive and Inductive Research

Open Document