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The Lost Art of Discovery: The Case for Inductive Methods in Occupational Health Science and the Broader Organizational Sciences

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Abstract

This paper makes a case for the necessity of inductive and abductive approaches to research in occupational health science and the broader organizational sciences. Three forms of scientific inference are described: induction (exploratory research that generalizes from observations), abduction (deriving explanations for observations), and deduction (confirmatory research that tests theory-derived hypotheses). It is argued that the current deductive exclusiveness in the major journals of many fields has created unintended challenges to research integrity of confirmation bias, p-hacking, HARKing, and the chrysalis effect. Recommendations are given for writing and reviewing research papers that adopt an inductive and/or abductive approach.

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Notes

  1. The policy at Occupational Health Science is to welcome inductive as well as deductive papers. This essay is intended to be a guide to those wishing to submit such papers here, as well as to other journals in occupational health, the organizational sciences, and beyond.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, PCD 4118, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Paul E. Spector

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Spector, P.E. The Lost Art of Discovery: The Case for Inductive Methods in Occupational Health Science and the Broader Organizational Sciences. Occup Health Sci 1, 11–27 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-017-0001-5

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