Deductive versus Inductive Paradigms
These two contrasting views represent different ways you can conduct your research.
If you undertake deductive research you will form hypotheses based on existing knowledge on your chosen subject. The subsequent research you conduct should conclusively confirm or reject each hypothesis. In larger scale business research, particular theories may then be revised in the light of such conclusions.
By contrast, if you conduct inductive research you construct and/or explore general propositions from specific, limited observations of a chosen phenomenon. In small business research projects, these observations often take the form of one or a small number of case studies. Your findings from such cases should then be generalized to a wider population of organizations in and beyond your research context.
Deductive research is therefore closely related to conclusive proof-driven logic, while inductive research involves non-conclusive, probabilistic reasoning. As the two views of research are fundamentally different in nature they cannot be combined. Moreover, you should avoid stating that you wish to adopt one view when you actually mean the other. You also need to be sensitive to the distinctly different language used by deductive and inductive researchers.