What Is Inductive Reasoning? Its Types And Examples
Inductive reasoning is a technique for concluding by moving from the specific to the general. Deductive reasoning, in which you proceed from generic facts to specific conclusions, is generally contrasted with inductive reasoning.
Inductive reasoning is also known as bottom-up reasoning or inductive logic.
Note that inductive and deductive reasoning are frequently confounded. On the other hand, deductive reasoning involves drawing inferences from generic premises to particular conclusions.
What is the definition of inductive reasoning?
Inductive reasoning is a logical method of arriving at conclusions or judgments. Inductive reasoning is frequently used informally in everyday circumstances.
You’ve probably seen inductive logic examples that consist of three statements. These begin with a single observation, then go on to a general pattern, and finally to a conclusion.
Example of Inductive reasoning
Observation specific
Stage 1: Nala is an indigo cat with a loud purr.
Stage 3: At the age of 12 months, baby Jack uttered his first words.
Recognizing patterns
Stage 1: I’ve met a lot of orange cats, and they all purr a lot.
Stage 3: At the age of 12 months, all babies pronounce their first words.
Conclusion in general
Stage 1: All of the orange cats purr a lot.
Stage 3: At the age of 12 months, all newborns pronounce their first word.
Inductive reasoning in research
Inductive Reasoning research begins with observations or data collection. Next, you look at your data from a broad perspective and look for trends. Finally, you arrive at broad findings that you may use to develop hypotheses.
Example of Inductive Reasoning in research
You perform an exploratory study to see if pet behaviour has altered due to their owners’ work-from-home policies.
You send out a questionnaire to pet owners. You inquire about their pet’s breed and any behavioural changes they’ve seen in their pets since they began working from home. Your observations are made up of these facts.
To evaluate your data, you must first design a system for categorizing survey replies so that you can spot common patterns. You see a pattern: most of your dogs have become more dependent and clinging or irritated and violent.
According to your research, practically all pets experienced behavioural changes due to changes in their owners’ work locations.
It is a broad generalization that may be used to examine further research topics.
Inductive reasoning is often associated with qualitative research; however, both quantitative and qualitative research employs various reasoning techniques.
Inductive reasoning comes in a variety of forms.
People utilize a variety of inductive reasoning techniques, both officially and informally therefore we’ll only go through a couple in this article:
- Inductive generalization
- Generalization based on statistics
- Causal reasoning
- Sign reasoning
- Analogical reasoning
Depending on the amount and quality of observations and arguments employed, inductive reasoning generalizations can range from weak to powerful.
Generalization through induction
Inductive Reasoning generalizations rely on observations from a sample to conclude the population from which the sample was drawn.
Induction by enumeration is another name for inductive generalizations.
An example of Inductive generalization
- All of the flamingos in this area are pink.
- I’ve only seen pink flamingos.
- Pink flamingos are required.
Several criteria are used to assess inductive generalizations:
- Large sample: For a good observation, your sample should be large.
- Probability sampling methods enable you to generalize your findings.
- External validity: Your observations should be diverse.
- Any observations that contradict yours invalidate your generalization.
Generalization based on statistics
Statistical generalizations make claims about populations based on precise numbers, but non-statistical generalizations do not.
These generalizations are also known as statistical syllogisms and are a kind of inductive generalizations.
A statistical generalization is compared with a non-statistical generalization in this example.
Here is an example of Statistical vs non-statistical generalization.
Specific Observation
Statistical: A local university survey found that 73 per cent of students favour blended learning settings.
Non-statistical: Most students in a local university’s sample choose hybrid learning environments.
Generalization through induction
Statistical: Seventy-three per cent of university students choose blended learning settings.
Non-statistical: The majority of university students favour mixed learning settings.
Causal reasoning
Causal reasoning is the process of establishing cause-and-effect relationships between various events.
A basic setting for a causal reasoning statement is:
- You begin with a hypothesis about a link (two events that co-occur).
- Then, you either propose a single causation direction or oppose any other.
- Finally, you end with a causal remark regarding the link between two things.
An excellent example of Causal reasoning
When I put a red cloth in the washing machine with my white garments, they all become pink.
When I wash my white clothes alone, they do not turn pink.
When you mix bright colours with light colours, the colours will run and ruin the light-coloured garments.
There are a few things that reasonable causal inferences have in common:
Direction: Based on your findings, the direction of causality should be apparent and unambiguous.
Strength: The cause and effect should ideally have a strong link.
Sign reasoning
Making correlational linkages between distinct items is what sign reasoning entails.
You deduce a purely correlational link via Inductive Reasoning when nothing causes the other thing to happen. Instead, one incident may serve as a “sign” that another is about to happen or is now happening.
An excellent example of Sign reasoning
- Punxsutawney Phil did not foresee a six-week winter prolongation.
- His shadow is an omen that winter will continue for another six weeks.
When constructing correlational relationships between variables, it’s wise to be cautious. You may be on shaky footing if you don’t build your argument on solid evidence and eliminate any complicating elements.
Reasoning via analogy
Analogical Inductive Reasoning is the process of obtaining conclusions about something by comparing it to something else. You connect two things first and then infer that some quality of one object must also be true of the other.
Analogical reasoning can be literal (closely comparable) or figurative (abstract), but a literal comparison will give you a far stronger argument.
Comparison reasoning is another name for analogical reasoning.
An example of Analogical thinking
Humans and laboratory rats are physiologically similar, sharing about 90% of their DNA.
When lab rats are given a novel Parkinson’s disease treatment, they show encouraging outcomes.
Consequently, when humans are given medicine, they will see positive benefits.Deductive reasoning vs inductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning is top-down, whereas Inductive Reasoning is bottom-up.
You create inferences in deductive reasoning by proceeding from broad premises to particular conclusions. For example, you begin with a hypothesis that you test empirically after developing a theory. To conclude your hypothesis, you collect data from many observations and perform a statistical test.
Because your generalizations aid in developing hypotheses, the inductive inquiry is frequently exploratory. Deductive research, on the other hand, is usually confirmatory.
Both inductive reasoning and deductive techniques are sometimes used within a single research project.
One example of combining inductive and deductive reasoning
You begin a study to find methods to enhance workplace surroundings.
- A strategy based on inductive reasoning
Using qualitative methodologies and an Inductive Reasoning approach, you begin by investigating the study issue. Next, you gather data by interviewing workers on the issue and analyzing the results for trends. Then you create a theory to test in a subsequent investigation.
- A strategy based on deductive reasoning
You begin by assuming that workplace lighting impacts workers’ quality of life. You believe that enough natural illumination can help employees feel more at ease in the workplace. In a follow-up experiment, you use a deductive research technique to evaluate the hypothesis.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Inductive reasoning?
Ans: Inductive Reasoning is a technique for arriving at conclusions by moving from the specific to the general. Deductive reasoning, in which you proceed from generic facts to specific conclusions, is generally contrasted with inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is also known as bottom-up reasoning or inductive logic.
2. What are some inductive reasoning types?
Ans: People utilize a variety of Inductive Reasoning techniques, both officially and informally.
Here are a few examples:
- Inductive generalization is when you utilize data from a sample to conclude the population from which the sample came.
- Statistical generalization is when you assert populations based on particular numbers from samples.
- Causal thinking is when you make cause-and-effect connections between several phenomena.
- You establish a conclusion regarding a correlational link between distinct objects using sign reasoning.
- Analogical thinking is when you get to a conclusion about something by comparing it to something else.
3. In research, what is inductive reasoning?
Ans: Inductive Reasoning is a logical thinking method that combines observations and experience data. When you examine a collection of data and then draw broad inferences based on prior experience, you use inductive reasoning. Inductive research begins with observations or data collection. After that, you run a comprehensive scan of your data to look for trends. Finally, you arrive at broad findings that you may use to develop hypotheses.
4. Was Socrates a deductive or inductive thinker?
Ans: Because he was the first to pursue creative thought rather than conventional knowledge, Socrates symbolized a new era in philosophy. He was the first to present Inductive Reasoning, which involves asking a series of critical questions to evaluate one’s premises and conclusions.
5. What is an example of deductive reasoning?
Ans: It occurs when two true assertions, or premises, are combined to generate a conclusion. A is equivalent to B, for example. B is the same as C. Using deductive reasoning, you may determine that A equals C given those two truths.
6. What is an example of inductive reasoning?
Ans: You use inductive logic to create a causal relationship between a premise and a hypothesis in causal inference Inductive Reasoning. Consider the following scenario: There are ducks on our pond in the summer. As a result, ducks will flock to our pond this summer.
Total Assignment Help
Incase, you are looking for an opportunity to work from home and earn big money. TotalAssignmenthelp Affiliate program is the best choice for you.
Do visit :https://www.totalassignmenthelp.com/affiliate-program for more details
Total Assignment help is an assignment help Online service available in 9 countries. Our local operations span across Australia, US, UK, South east Asia and the Middle East. With extensive experience in academic writing, Total assignment help has a strong track record delivering quality writing at a nominal price that meet the unique needs of students in our local markets.
We have specialized network of highly trained writers, who can provide best possible assignment help solution for all your needs. Next time you are looking for assignment help, make sure to give us a try.
