Flaws in Inductive Reasoning
Flaws in inductive reasoning occur when a relevant observation is excluded (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). For example, suppose that a researcher observed many white swans and con- cluded that all swans are white. The flaw would be discovered when another observation revealed a black swan. Or, suppose that a nurse observed that several people with a medical diagnosis of depression cried a lot and concluded that all people who cry are depressed. The flaw would be discovered when another observation revealed that people who were happy also cried. Consequently, when you evaluate the structural consis- tency of a middle-range theory in a theory-generating research report, consider whether the report includes a sufficient number and variety of observations to support each conclusion.