What is a theory?
It is an explanation for particular events or patterns that have been noticed (observed regularities)
What are the different types of theories according to Merton?
Merton states that we can split the theories into two categories:
- Theories of the middle range: which attempt to understand and explain a particular aspect of the social world.
- Grand theories: which operate more to an abstract level. They are so abstract that it is difficult to make the necessary links with the real world to test an aspect of a theory or draw an inference from it that could be tested.
What do we mean by the deductive approach?
The researcher draws on what is known about a particular domain and on relevant theoretical ideas in order to deduce a hypothesis.
A hypothesis is a speculation that the research can empirically. Embedded within the hypothesis will be concepts that will need to be translated into researchable entities, the variables.
The deductive approach is more commonly used in quantitative research.
What are the steps of a deductive approach?
- Theories and hypotheses deduced from it come first, they drive the process of gathering data
- Revision of theory: it is a moment that goes in the opposite direction from the deduction since the researcher reflects on the implications of their findings for the theory that prompted the whole exercise.
What do we mean by inductive approach?
Is an approach where the theory is the outcome of research and is formed by drawing generalisable inferences out of observations.
The inductive process is likely to involve a degree of deduction. Once the researcher has carried out some theoretical reflection on a set of data, they may want to collect further data in order to establish the conditions in which a theory will and will not hold.
It is an approach more commonly used in qualitative research.
What is the abductive reasoning?
It is an approach which proposes a way of addressing the limitation of both deductive and inductive approaches.
Abductive reasoning
