Qualitative Research? Deductive versus Inductive Lines of Inquiry || Positivism v Post-positivism

Drs. Nicholas and Jo Markette

Understanding the philosophical foundations and approaches to qualitative research is crucial for any doctoral student. Let's explore two key philosophical paradigms and their connection to research methodologies.

Positivism, which emerged in the 19th century, holds that objective reality exists independently of human perception. Positivists believe knowledge can only come from observable phenomena and measurable facts, seeking to discover universal laws governing human behavior. In contrast, post-positivism, while still believing in objective reality, acknowledges that our understanding is inherently imperfect and biased by researchers' backgrounds and perspectives.

These paradigms connect directly to two primary research approaches: deductive and inductive. Deductive research, often aligned with positivism, uses a top-down approach. Researchers start with a theory or hypothesis and collect data to test it. For example, a researcher might hypothesize that social media use decreases face-to-face teenage interactions, then design a study to test this theory.

Inductive research, more aligned with post-positivism, takes a bottom-up approach. Researchers begin with specific observations and work toward broader generalizations and theories. They might observe teenage social interactions without preconceptions, identify patterns, and develop theories based on their observations.

Key differences between these approaches include:

· Starting point (theory vs. observations)

· Direction (general-to-specific vs. specific-to-general)

· Flexibility (structured vs. flexible)

· Theory contribution (testing vs. generating)

· Data collection (focused vs. exploratory)

Notably, many modern qualitative studies combine both approaches, leveraging their respective strengths. As highlighted in Braun and Clark's 2022 work on thematic analysis, both approaches can be effectively used for data analysis.

When designing your qualitative research, let your problem statement, research questions, philosophical stance, and the nature of your phenomenon guide your choice of approach.

Watch the full video guide here:

Markette, N. & Markette., J. [Dr. Markette]. (2024, November). Qualitative Research? Deductive versus Inductive Lines of Inquiry || Positivism v Post-positivism [Video]. https://youtu.be/H5tSiL-ogug