Deductive Research
Deductive research is an approach which the researcher uses for the formulation of theories by using the existing hypothesis. College going students studying research subjects often face issues in applying the deductive approach in their research. In this article, our research paper writing team is providing a complete overview of the deductive approach to research.
What is a Deductive approach to research?
The term deductive means moving from generalizing to a specific conclusion.
The deductive approach or Deductive reasoning can be referred to as the process of concluding based on premises which are generally considered as true. It starts with the formulation of a hypothesis. Deductive reasoning in research mainly relies on general statements. The deductive research approach is a logical procedure in which the conclusion is dependent on the concordance of multiple premises which are considered to be as true. It is also known as a top-down approach. Deductive reasoning is one of the two general types of logical inference. The deductive approach to research is related to Positivism research philosophy.
It is an approach in research using which the researcher mainly focuses on the formulation of a strategy to test a hypothesis. In case you are using a deductive approach for your research then you need to first provide specific and then a general explanation. Researchers mainly apply the deductive approach to research for analyzing whether a causal relationship between different variables of the study exists or not. The deductive approach to research involves the deduction of conclusions from the main proposition. If you using deductive reasoning in research then you need to start a survey by observing things. The deductive research approach helps researchers in the identification of patterns.
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Deductive reasoning: Example
All men are mortal (First premise)
Socrates is a man (Second premise)
Socrates is mortal (conclusion)
How to apply a Deductive approach in Business Research?
The deductive research approach follows a path of logic. If you are applying the deductive approach in research then you need to analyze the existing hypothesis and after that you need to develop a new theory. After the formulation of a new hypothesis you are required to match it with observation. After that you need to decide whether to accept or reject a new theory.
The 5 steps which you need to follow for applying the deductive approach in your research successfully are:
Step 1: Analyze existing theory: It is an initial step where you need to first analyze previous theories related to the topic. In the context of the deductive approach, before starting research, you are required to develop a set of hypotheses.
Step 2: Formulate theories: At this step, you need to propose a relationship between different specific variables.
Step 3: Test hypothesis: It is a step where you need to apply different methods such as correlation, regression, median, mean, mode for testing theories. At the next step, you need to select appropriate research methods and you should apply the same for testing hypothesis
Step 4: Analysis of Research results: At this step you need to analyze the research results. After that based on research results you need to accept or reject the hypothesis. During the Analysis of research outcome you need to make a comparison between research findings and literature review findings.
Step 5: Modification of hypothesis: You need to perform such a hypothesis when specific theory is not confirmed. After doing the modification you need to make a final decision related to whether to accept or reject the hypothesis.
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Deductive approach: Advantages
Few advantages of deductive reasoning are:
- It enables the researcher to explain the relationship between different variables and concepts.
- The deductive research approach helps in measuring the concepts in quantity.
- Researchers if you deductive approach in research helps in generalizations of findings to a greater extend.
- It also helps in exploring known phenomena or hypotheses.
Conclusion
It has been concluded from the above that a deductive approach to research is useful for testing theories. Another fact which has been discovered from the above is that the deductive approach is known as deductive reasoning as it follows a path of logic.
