Lesson 4

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

The main difference between inductive and deductive reasoning is that inductive reasoning
aims at developing a theory while deductive reasoning aims at testing an existing theory.
Inductive reasoning moves from specific observations to broad generalizations, and deductive
reasoning the other way around.

I. Inductive research approach

The inductive approach consists of three stages:
1. Observation
o I opened my boyfriend’s cellular phone and I saw him sending flirty texts to girl.
2. Observe a pattern
o Every time I opened his phone, I saw flirty message sent to the same girl.
3. Develop a theory
o My boyfriend is cheating on me.

Limitations of an inductive approach

A conclusion drawn on the basis of an inductive method can never be proven, but it can be
invalidated.
Example
You read 10 flirty messages sent by your boyfriend to a girl. All of these messages contain an “I
love you” text, which is in line with the theory that he is cheating on you. However, you can
never prove that he has a love relationship with a different girl. Still, the larger your dataset, the
more reliable the conclusion.

II. Deductive research approach

When conducting deductive research, you always start with a theory (the result of inductive
research). Reasoning deductively means testing these theories. If there is no theory yet, you
cannot conduct deductive research.
The deductive research approach consists of four stages:
1. Start with an existing theory
o Neuroscience has shown that the prefrontal cortex of the brain which involved
rational decisions are deactivated when humans experience the first stage of
love.
2. Collect data to test the hypothesis
o Collect data from neuroscience research showing statistical data of people
proving that they cannot think critically when in the first stage of love
o Test humans who are in the first stage of love in relation to their cognitive
abilities
3. Analyze the results: does the data reject or support the hypothesis?

Limitations of a deductive approach

The conclusions of deductive reasoning can only be true if all the premises set in the inductive
study are true and the terms are clear. However, if the first premise turns out to be false, the
conclusion cannot be relied upon.

SOURCE: https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/inductive-deductive-reasoning