Deductive & Inductive Reasoning
¥ Deductive
reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally called a "top-down" approach. We might begin with thinking up a theory about our topic of interest. We then narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that
we can test. We narrow down even further when we collect observations to address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads us to be able to test the hypotheses with specific data -- a confirmation (or
not) of our original theories.
¥Inductive reasoning works the other way, moving from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a
"bottom up" approach In inductive
reasoning, we begin with specific
observations and measures, begin to detect patterns
and regularities, formulate some tentative hypotheses that we can explore, and finally end up developing some general conclusions
or theories.
Source: William M.K.
Trochim, 2006