Introduction to Research Methods

6 Deductive Approaches to Research

Researchers taking a deductive approach take the steps described for inductive research and reverse their order. They start with a social theory that they find compelling and then test its implications with data. That is, they move from a more general level to a more specific one. A deductive approach to research is the one that people typically associate with scientific investigation. The researcher studies what others have done, reads existing theories of whatever phenomenon he or she is studying, and then tests hypotheses that emerge from those theories (see Figure 1.5).

1. Theorize/hypothesize. 2. Analyze data. 3. Hypotheses supported or not.
Figure 1.5: Steps involved with a deductive approach to research.

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An Introduction to Research Methods in Sociology Copyright © 2019 by Valerie A. Sheppard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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