INDUCTIVE METHOD OF RESEARCH
Inductive method of research :
Induction is the most frequently used method of scientific research. Induction is a
process of reasoning from particular cases to whole group of cases from specific
instances to general rules. The inductive method is also known as historical, empirical
and a posseriori method, It tries to remove the gulf between theory and practice. This
method examines various causes one after another and tries to establish casual
relations between them. General principles are laid down after examining a large
number of special instances or facts. The method is said to be ‘empirical’ because the
formulation of principle is made only after an extensive indicative argument does not
establish the conclusion conclusively. The premise of a valid argument may be true, but
the conclusion may still be false. Its premise only supports the conclusion but it does not
make the latter certain.
(iii) Merits of inductive method :
1. More realistic: This method is more realistic because it studies the changes in
2. Possibility of verification: The method is more useful because its prepositions can be
3. Proper attention to complexities: This method takes full note of the complex
4. Dynamic approach: This method takes into consideration the changeable nature of
(iv) Demerits of inductive method :
1. It is a difficult method. This method cannot be used by a beginner or a common man
conditions surrounding the social activities of man and their effect on social activities
is analyzed deeply.
tested and verified easily.
relationship found in actual life and examines them carefully.
assumptions. It does not consider facts to be stable. It is a dynamic method.
2. Danger of bias: The propositions obtained through this method are based upon data
3. Limited scope of verification: Since the propositions obtained through this method
4. Limited use in socio-legal studies: This method is commonly used for lifeless objects
because it is impossible for an ordinary person to collect facts, study them and derive
some conclusions out of them. The cost is too much for him.
collected by investigators. Therefore, there is a danger of investigator’s bias entering
into propositions.
are based on a few facts, the universal applicability of these propositions is always in
doubt.
of the physical science. In socio-legal studies, we study a man’s problems. As such
the method has limited used.
If anyone asks which method is preferred, the answer is both. Prof. Marshall says
“Induction and deduction are both needed for scientific study as right and left foot for
walking.
Induction operates on faith that in the course of things for a long time is a basic
and regularity evidenced. Surely enough for the inference that it will continue in the
future. If the premise and conclusion in the logical case, are both known, some
probability relations maybe established between them and this may serve as a
paradigm of an inductive inference. Inductive explanations also have explanandum and
explanans. The explanandum is generally probable. Explanandum cannot be deducted
from the explanans with certainty. The explanadnum is implied by the explansns. The
explanans support or provide evidence for the explanandum but does not make the
latter certain. The explanans can be true and the explanandum can be false in inductive
explanations. Inductive explanations explain either the probability of individual evens or
statistical generalizations.
Inductive examines the particular phenomena and discovers from them the
general law. There are two laws which binds the process of induction, i.e., the law of
universal causation and the law of uniformity of nature. Perfect induction is a method of
arriving at a universal proposition after taking into consideration of all the individual
instances of phenomena under investigation.
Induction argument derives a generalized conclusion on the basis of particulars
which are often empirically derived observations. The premise of an inductive argument
makes the conclusion probable, not certain. The inductive approach relies on the
scientific discovery of facts. One characteristic of inductive argument is that it
establishes a conclusion with a content which goes beyond its premise. From the
observation of sample, an inference is made about a whole population. This is called
the ‘inductive leap’, jumping from the premise, which relates to an observed sample, to
the conclusion which concerns with entire population. The greater the number of
representative units in the premise of observed in the sample, the smaller is the
inductive leap. The premise of a heap of fats. Better than either the spider or an ant is
the bee, which selectively gathers pollen and transforms it into honey. To be a bee, one
has to mingle both induction and deduction in intricate way.
The combination of induction and deduction is necessary for obtaining true
knowledge because the testing of the truth or validity of a set of propositions depends
upon demonstrating that the consequences deduced from those propositions are
observable.
Through observations and inductive reasoning we accumulate knowledge
consisting of facts, concepts and empirical generalizations. This is not necessarily true
knowledge. The next step makes use of deductive reasoning. In this step a theoretical
model is constructed from known generalizations and other assumptions, the
hypotheses are deduced from the mode, Hypotheses are propositions which are
deduced from theoretical models and whose truth has be tested through observation.
The process of constructing the theoretical model and deducing hypotheses from it is
entirely based on reasoning. To complete the study, however, hypotheses have now to
be tested through observation. If the hypotheses are validated then it is to be accepted
that the theoretical model from which the hypotheses have been deduced is also true. It
then becomes part of the theoretical knowledge or true knowledge. Thus we succeed in
acquiring knowledge about the true reality through an investigation of the empirical
reality.
The above approach of study starts with induction, is followed with deduction and
then ends up, again with induction. Studies need not always begin with observation. If
there are already a sufficient number of tested propositions, one can straightaway
formulate a theoretical model and deduce hypotheses and then test the hypotheses with
observation. This approach of study starts with reasoning (deduction) and ends up with
observation (induction). However, in either of these approaches both induction and
deduction are involved.
