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PrinciplesofSociologicalInquiry:QualitativeandQuantitativeMethods1.0|FlatWorldEducation

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TableofContents
AbouttheAuthor
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
HowDoWeKnowWhatWeKnow?
Science,SocialScience,andSociology
WhyShouldWeCare?
DesignandGoalsofThisText
LinkingMethodsWithTheory
Micro,Meso,andMacroApproaches
Paradigms,Theories,andHowTheyShapeaResearchersApproach
InductiveorDeductive?TwoDifferentApproaches
RevisitinganEarlierQuestion
ResearchEthics
ResearchonHumans
SpecificEthicalIssuestoConsider
EthicsatMicro,Meso,andMacroLevels
ThePracticeofScienceVersustheUsesofScience
BeginningaResearchProject
StartingWhereYouAlreadyAre
IsItEmpirical?
IsItSociological?
IsItaQuestion?
NextSteps
ResearchDesign
GoalsoftheResearchProject
QualitativeorQuantitative?SomeSpecificConsiderations
Triangulation
ComponentsofaResearchProject
DefiningandMeasuringConcepts
Measurement
Conceptualization
Operationalization
MeasurementQuality
ComplexitiesinMeasurement
Sampling
PopulationsVersusSamples
SamplinginQualitativeResearch
SamplinginQuantitativeResearch
AWordofCaution:QuestionstoAskAboutSamples
SurveyResearch:AQuantitativeTechnique
SurveyResearch:WhatIsItandWhenShouldItBeUsed?
ProsandConsofSurveyResearch
TypesofSurveys
DesigningEffectiveQuestionsandQuestionnaires
AnalysisofSurveyData
Interviews:QualitativeandQuantitativeApproaches
InterviewResearch:WhatIsItandWhenShouldItBeUsed?
QualitativeInterviewTechniquesandConsiderations
QuantitativeInterviewTechniquesandConsiderations
IssuestoConsiderforAllInterviewTypes
FieldResearch:AQualitativeTechnique
FieldResearch:WhatIsItandWhentoUseIt?
ProsandConsofFieldResearch
GettingIn
FieldNotes
AnalysisofFieldResearchData
UnobtrusiveResearch:QualitativeandQuantitativeApproaches
UnobtrusiveResearch:WhatIsItandWhentoUseIt?
ProsandConsofUnobtrusiveResearch
UnobtrusiveDataCollectedbyYou
AnalyzingOthersData
ReliabilityinUnobtrusiveResearch
OtherMethodsofDataCollectionandAnalysis
FocusGroups
Experiments
EthnomethodologyandConversationAnalysis
SharingYourWork
DecidingWhattoShareandWithWhomtoShareIt
PresentingYourResearch
WritingUpResearchResults
DisseminatingFindings
ReadingandUnderstandingSocialResearch
ReadingReportsofSociologicalResearch
BeingaResponsibleConsumerofResearch
MediaReportsofSociologicalResearch
SociologicalResearch:ItsEverywhere
ResearchMethodsintheRealWorld
DoingResearchforaLiving
DoingResearchforaCause
PublicSociology
RevisitinganEarlierQuestion:WhyShouldWeCare?
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PrinciplesofSociologicalInquiry:QualitativeandQuantitativeMethods,v.
1.0
byAmyBlackstone

2.3InductiveorDeductive?TwoDifferentApproaches
LearningObjectives
1. Describetheinductiveapproachtoresearch,andprovideexamplesofinductiveresearch.
2. Describethedeductiveapproachtoresearch,andprovideexamplesofdeductiveresearch.
3. Describethewaysthatinductiveanddeductiveapproachesmaybecomplementary.
Theoriesstructureandinformsociologicalresearch.So,too,doesresearchstructureandinformtheory.Thereciprocalrelationshipbetweentheoryandresearch
oftenbecomesevidenttostudentsnewtothesetopicswhentheyconsidertherelationshipsbetweentheoryandresearchininductiveanddeductiveapproachesto
research.Inbothcases,theoryiscrucial.Buttherelationshipbetweentheoryandresearchdiffersforeachapproach.Inductiveanddeductiveapproachestoresearch
arequitedifferent,buttheycanalsobecomplementary.Letsstartbylookingateachoneandhowtheydifferfromoneanother.Thenwellmoveontothinking
abouthowtheycomplementoneanother.

InductiveApproachesandSomeExamples
InaninductiveapproachCollectdata,analyzepatternsinthedata,andthentheorizefromthedata.toresearch,aresearcherbeginsbycollectingdatathatisrelevant
tohisorhertopicofinterest.Onceasubstantialamountofdatahavebeencollected,theresearcherwillthentakeabreatherfromdatacollection,steppingbackto
getabirdseyeviewofherdata.Atthisstage,theresearcherlooksforpatternsinthedata,workingtodevelopatheorythatcouldexplainthosepatterns.Thuswhen
researcherstakeaninductiveapproach,theystartwithasetofobservationsandthentheymovefromthoseparticularexperiencestoamoregeneralsetof
propositionsaboutthoseexperiences.Inotherwords,theymovefromdatatotheory,orfromthespecifictothegeneral.Figure2.5"InductiveResearch"outlinesthe
stepsinvolvedwithaninductiveapproachtoresearch.
Figure2.5InductiveResearch

Therearemanygoodexamplesofinductiveresearch,butwelllookatjustafewhere.Onefascinatingrecentstudyinwhichtheresearcherstookaninductive
approachwasKatherineAllen,ChristineKaestle,andAbbieGoldbergsstudy(2011)[1]ofhowboysandyoungmenlearnaboutmenstruation.Tounderstandthis
process,Allenandhercolleaguesanalyzedthewrittennarrativesof23youngmeninwhichthemendescribedhowtheylearnedaboutmenstruation,whatthey
thoughtofitwhentheyfirstlearnedaboutit,andwhattheythinkofitnow.Bylookingforpatternsacrossall23mensnarratives,theresearcherswereableto
developageneraltheoryofhowboysandyoungmenlearnaboutthisaspectofgirlsandwomensbiology.Theyconcludethatsistersplayanimportantrolein
boysearlyunderstandingofmenstruation,thatmenstruationmakesboysfeelsomewhatseparatedfromgirls,andthatastheyenteryoungadulthoodandform
romanticrelationships,youngmendevelopmorematureattitudesaboutmenstruation.
Inanotherinductivestudy,KristinFergusonandcolleagues(Ferguson,Kim,&McCoy,2011)[2]analyzedempiricaldatatobetterunderstandhowbesttomeetthe
needsofyoungpeoplewhoarehomeless.Theauthorsanalyzeddatafromfocusgroupswith20youngpeopleatahomelessshelter.Fromthesedatatheydeveloped
asetofrecommendationsforthoseinterestedinappliedinterventionsthatservehomelessyouth.Theresearchersalsodevelopedhypothesesforpeoplewhomight
wishtoconductfurtherinvestigationofthetopic.ThoughFergusonandhercolleaguesdidnottestthehypothesesthattheydevelopedfromtheiranalysis,theirstudy
endswheremostdeductiveinvestigationsbegin:withasetoftestablehypotheses.

DeductiveApproachesandSomeExamples
ResearcherstakingadeductiveapproachDevelophypothesesbasedonsometheoryortheories,collectdatathatcanbeusedtotestthehypotheses,andassess
whetherthedatacollectedsupportthehypotheses.takethestepsdescribedearlierforinductiveresearchandreversetheirorder.Theystartwithasocialtheorythat

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PrinciplesofSociologicalInquiry:QualitativeandQuantitativeMethods1.0|FlatWorldEducation

whetherthedatacollectedsupportthehypotheses.takethestepsdescribedearlierforinductiveresearchandreversetheirorder.Theystartwithasocialtheorythat
theyfindcompellingandthentestitsimplicationswithdata.Thatis,theymovefromamoregeneralleveltoamorespecificone.Adeductiveapproachtoresearch
istheonethatpeopletypicallyassociatewithscientificinvestigation.Theresearcherstudieswhatothershavedone,readsexistingtheoriesofwhateverphenomenon
heorsheisstudying,andthentestshypothesesthatemergefromthosetheories.Figure2.6"DeductiveResearch"outlinesthestepsinvolvedwithadeductive
approachtoresearch.
Figure2.6DeductiveResearch

Whilenotallresearchersfollowadeductiveapproach,asyouhaveseenintheprecedingdiscussion,manydo,andthereareanumberofexcellentrecentexamples
ofdeductiveresearch.Welltakealookatacoupleofthosenext.
InastudyofUSlawenforcementresponsestohatecrimes,RyanKingandcolleagues(King,Messner,&Baller,2009)[3]hypothesizedthatlawenforcements
responsewouldbelessvigorousinareasofthecountrythathadastrongerhistoryofracialviolence.Theauthorsdevelopedtheirhypothesisfromtheirreadingof
priorresearchandtheoriesonthetopic.Next,theytestedthehypothesisbyanalyzingdataonstateslynchinghistoriesandhatecrimeresponses.Overall,the
authorsfoundsupportfortheirhypothesis.
Inanotherrecentdeductivestudy,MelissaMilkieandCatharineWarner(2011)[4]studiedtheeffectsofdifferentclassroomenvironmentsonfirstgradersmental
health.Basedonpriorresearchandtheory,MilkieandWarnerhypothesizedthatnegativeclassroomfeatures,suchasalackofbasicsuppliesandevenheat,would
beassociatedwithemotionalandbehavioralproblemsinchildren.Theresearchersfoundsupportfortheirhypothesis,demonstratingthatpolicymakersshould
probablybepayingmoreattentiontothementalhealthoutcomesofchildrensschoolexperiences,justastheytrackacademicoutcomes(AmericanSociological
Association,2011).[5]

ComplementaryApproaches?
Whileinductiveanddeductiveapproachestoresearchseemquitedifferent,theycanactuallyberathercomplementary.Insomecases,researcherswillplanfortheir
researchtoincludemultiplecomponents,oneinductiveandtheotherdeductive.Inothercases,aresearchermightbeginastudywiththeplantoonlyconducteither
inductiveordeductiveresearch,butthenheorshediscoversalongthewaythattheotherapproachisneededtohelpilluminatefindings.Hereisanexampleofeach
suchcase.
Inthecaseofmycollaborativeresearchonsexualharassment,webeganthestudyknowingthatwewouldliketotakebothadeductiveandaninductiveapproachin
ourwork.Wethereforeadministeredaquantitativesurvey,theresponsestowhichwecouldanalyzeinordertotesthypotheses,andalsoconductedqualitative
interviewswithanumberofthesurveyparticipants.Thesurveydatawerewellsuitedtoadeductiveapproachwecouldanalyzethosedatatotesthypothesesthat
weregeneratedbasedontheoriesofharassment.Theinterviewdatawerewellsuitedtoaninductiveapproachwelookedforpatternsacrosstheinterviewsandthen
triedtomakesenseofthosepatternsbytheorizingaboutthem.
Foronepaper(Uggen&Blackstone,2004),[6]webeganwithaprominentfeministtheoryofthesexualharassmentofadultwomenanddevelopedasetof
hypothesesoutlininghowweexpectedthetheorytoapplyinthecaseofyoungerwomensandmensharassmentexperiences.Wethentestedourhypothesesby
analyzingthesurveydata.Ingeneral,wefoundsupportforthetheorythatpositedthatthecurrentgendersystem,inwhichheteronormativemenwieldthemost
powerintheworkplace,explainedworkplacesexualharassmentnotjustofadultwomenbutofyoungerwomenandmenaswell.Inamorerecentpaper
(Blackstone,Houle,&Uggen,2006),[7]wedidnothypothesizeaboutwhatwemightfindbutinsteadinductivelyanalyzedtheinterviewdata,lookingforpatterns
thatmighttellussomethingabouthoworwhetherworkersperceptionsofharassmentchangeastheyageandgainworkplaceexperience.Fromthisanalysis,we
determinedthatworkersperceptionsofharassmentdidindeedshiftastheygainedexperienceandthattheirlaterdefinitionsofharassmentweremorestringentthan
thosetheyheldduringadolescence.Overall,ourdesiretounderstandyoungworkersharassmentexperiencesfullyintermsoftheirobjectiveworkplace
experiences,theirperceptionsofthoseexperiences,andtheirstoriesoftheirexperiencesledustoadoptbothdeductiveandinductiveapproachesinthework.
Researchersmaynotalwayssetouttoemploybothapproachesintheirworkbutsometimesfindthattheiruseofoneapproachleadsthemtotheother.Onesuch
exampleisdescribedeloquentlyinRussellSchuttsInvestigatingtheSocialWorld(2006).[8]AsSchuttdescribes,researchersLawrenceShermanandRichardBerk
(1984)[9]conductedanexperimenttotesttwocompetingtheoriesoftheeffectsofpunishmentondeterringdeviance(inthiscase,domesticviolence).Specifically,
ShermanandBerkhypothesizedthatdeterrencetheorywouldprovideabetterexplanationoftheeffectsofarrestingaccusedbatterersthanlabelingtheory.
Deterrencetheorypredictsthatarrestinganaccusedspousebattererwillreducefutureincidentsofviolence.Conversely,labelingtheorypredictsthatarresting
accusedspousebattererswillincreasefutureincidents.Figure2.7"PredictingtheEffectsofArrestonFutureSpouseBattery"summarizesthetwocompeting
theoriesandthepredictionsthatShermanandBerksetouttotest.
Figure2.7PredictingtheEffectsofArrestonFutureSpouseBattery

ShermanandBerkfound,afterconductinganexperimentwiththehelpoflocalpoliceinonecity,thatarrestdidinfactdeterfutureincidentsofviolence,thus
supportingtheirhypothesisthatdeterrencetheorywouldbetterpredicttheeffectofarrest.Afterconductingthisresearch,theyandotherresearcherswentonto
conductsimilarexperiments[10]insixadditionalcities(Berk,Campbell,Klap,&Western,1992Pate&Hamilton,1992Sherman&Smith,1992).[11]Results
fromthesefollowupstudiesweremixed.Insomecases,arrestdeterredfutureincidentsofviolence.Inothercases,itdidnot.Thislefttheresearcherswithnewdata
thattheyneededtoexplain.Theresearchersthereforetookaninductiveapproachinanefforttomakesenseoftheirlatestempiricalobservations.Thenewstudies
revealedthatarrestseemedtohaveadeterrenteffectforthosewhoweremarriedandemployedbutthatitledtoincreasedoffensesforthosewhowereunmarried
andunemployed.Researchersthusturnedtocontroltheory,whichpredictsthathavingsomestakeinconformitythroughthesocialtiesprovidedbymarriageand
employment,asthebetterexplanation.
Figure2.8PredictingtheEffectsofArrestonFutureSpouseBattery:ANewTheory

WhattheShermanandBerkresearch,alongwiththefollowupstudies,showsusisthatwemightstartwithadeductiveapproachtoresearch,butthen,ifconfronted
bynewdatathatwemustmakesenseof,wemaymovetoaninductiveapproach.RussellSchuttdepictsthisprocessquitenicelyinhistext,andIveadaptedhis
depictionhere,inFigure2.9"TheResearchProcess:MovingFromDeductivetoInductiveinaStudyofDomesticViolenceRecidivism".
Figure2.9TheResearchProcess:MovingFromDeductivetoInductiveinaStudyofDomesticViolenceRecidivism

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PrinciplesofSociologicalInquiry:QualitativeandQuantitativeMethods1.0|FlatWorldEducation

ThinkstockAdaptedfromSchutt,R.K.(2006).Investigatingthesocialworld:Theprocessandpracticeofresearch.ThousandOaks,CA:PineForgePress,p.
77.

KeyTakeaways
Theinductiveapproachinvolvesbeginningwithasetofempiricalobservations,seekingpatternsinthoseobservations,andthentheorizingaboutthose
patterns.
Thedeductiveapproachinvolvesbeginningwithatheory,developinghypothesesfromthattheory,andthencollectingandanalyzingdatatotestthose
hypotheses.
Inductiveanddeductiveapproachestoresearchcanbeemployedtogetherforamorecompleteunderstandingofthetopicthataresearcherisstudying.
Thoughresearchersdontalwayssetouttousebothinductiveanddeductivestrategiesintheirwork,theysometimesfindthatnewquestionsariseinthe
courseofaninvestigationthatcanbestbeansweredbyemployingbothapproaches.

Exercises
1. Forahilariousexampleoflogicgoneawry,checkoutthefollowingclipfrom
MontyPythonandHolyGrail:

monty python-witch scene

Dothetownspeopletakeaninductiveordeductiveapproachtodeterminewhetherthewomaninquestionisawitch?Whataresomeofthedifferentsourcesof
knowledge(recallChapter1"Introduction")theyrelyon?
2. Thinkabouthowyoucouldapproachastudyoftherelationshipbetweengenderanddrivingoverthespeedlimit.Howcouldyoulearnaboutthisrelationship
usinganinductiveapproach?Whatwouldastudyofthesamerelationshiplooklikeifexaminedusingadeductiveapproach?Trythesamethingwithany
topicofyourchoice.Howmightyoustudythetopicinductively?Deductively?
PreviousNext
[1]Allen,K.R.,Kaestle,C.E.,&Goldberg,A.E.(2011).Morethanjustapunctuationmark:Howboysandyoungmenlearnaboutmenstruation.Journalof
FamilyIssues,32,129156.
[2]Ferguson,K.M.,Kim,M.A.,&McCoy,S.(2011).Enhancingempowermentandleadershipamonghomelessyouthinagencyandcommunitysettings:A
groundedtheoryapproach.ChildandAdolescentSocialWorkJournal,28,122.
[3]King,R.D.,Messner,S.F.,&Baller,R.D.(2009).Contemporaryhatecrimes,lawenforcement,andthelegacyofracialviolence.AmericanSociological
Review,74,291315.
[4]Milkie,M.A.,&Warner,C.H.(2011).Classroomlearningenvironmentsandthementalhealthoffirstgradechildren.JournalofHealthandSocialBehavior,
52,422.
[5]TheAmericanSociologicalAssociationwroteapressreleaseonMilkieandWarnersfindings:AmericanSociologicalAssociation.(2011).Study:Negative
classroomenvironmentadverselyaffectschildrensmentalhealth.Retrievedfrom
http://asanet.org/press/Negative_Classroom_Environment_Adversely_Affects_Childs_Mental_Health.cfm
[6]Uggen,C.,&Blackstone,A.(2004).Sexualharassmentasagenderedexpressionofpower.AmericanSociologicalReview,69,6492.
[7]Blackstone,A.,Houle,J.,&Uggen,C.AtthetimeIthoughtitwasgreat:Age,experience,andworkersperceptionsofsexualharassment.Presentedatthe
2006meetingsoftheAmericanSociologicalAssociation.Currentlyunderreview.
[8]Schutt,R.K.(2006).Investigatingthesocialworld:Theprocessandpracticeofresearch.ThousandOaks,CA:PineForgePress.
[9]Sherman,L.W.,&Berk,R.A.(1984).Thespecificdeterrenteffectsofarrestfordomesticassault.AmericanSociologicalReview,49,261272.
[10]Theresearchersdidwhatscalledreplication.WelllearnmoreaboutreplicationinChapter3"ResearchEthics".
[11]Berk,R.,Campbell,A.,Klap,R.,&Western,B.(1992).Thedeterrenteffectofarrestinincidentsofdomesticviolence:ABayesiananalysisoffourfield
experiments.AmericanSociologicalReview,57,698708Pate,A.,&Hamilton,E.(1992).Formalandinformaldeterrentstodomesticviolence:TheDadecounty
spouseassaultexperiment.AmericanSociologicalReview,57,691697Sherman,L.,&Smith,D.(1992).Crime,punishment,andstakeinconformity:Legaland
informalcontrolofdomesticviolence.AmericanSociologicalReview,57,680690.
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