ABSTRACT
Every research project is a process of “finding something out.” If the process is one of finding something out when there is little in the library on a topic, you must start from the beginning. You begin without presumptions or a theoretical frame that dictates what variables should be examined or the relationship between these variables. We call this mode of proceeding induction. If the study is being conducted for the purpose of testing hypotheses, confirming conjectures, or for testing a theory, the process is called deduction. A third mode of thinking inquiry is to move back and forward between induction and deduction throughout the research by first developing conjectures and then systematically testing these conjectures—a process labeled abduction.
Principle #3: Recognize and respect the project’s theoretical drive.
