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We can also place both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis along the entire spectrum. Both grounded theory (Charmaz 2014) and semantic network analysis (Doerfel 1998) could be described as unstructured methods, in the sense that researchers try not to impose a prior theoretical framework about the concepts and relations in a given corpus of text. Both approaches are appropriate for exploratory aims. Yet grounded theory relies only on words, whereas semantic network analysis relies on turning words into numbers and on mathematical processing.

You may have noticed that the exploratory–confirmatory and unstructured–structured framework mirrors another important continuum in research design: that between inductive and deductive logic. Inductive reasoning starts with empirical observations – data – and works toward empirical generalizations to develop theory. Deductive reasoning begins with theory and works toward specifying expectations, or hypotheses, that can be checked against empirical observation. As Figure 4.3 suggests, these modes of reasoning are inextricably linked in the logic of social research, which seeks to generate (inductive) and verify (deductive) theory about how the world works. Regardless of their epistemological perspective, most researchers engage in both types of reasoning at one point or another. Decisions about which methods to use at any point in time should be informed by consideration of where researchers are in the research cycle.