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SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE

(1)Experience
(2)Authority
(3)Deductive reasoning
(4)Inductive reasoning, and
(5)Scientific approach
EXPERIENCE

Experience is a well used


source of knowledge
By personal experience-
(After trying several routes
from home to work, you learn
which route takes the least
time or is the most free of
traffic)
wisdom passed from
generation to generation is
the result of experience
EXPERIENCE-LIMITATIONS

Different experiences in the same situation


AUTHORITY

Seek knowledge from someone


who has had experience with the
problem
Physician-health questions or
Principal can consult a lawyer
about a legal problem at school or a
beginning teacher asks an
experienced one for suggestions
Custom and tradition
AUTHORITY- LIMITATIONS
AUTHORITY- LIMITATIONS

Authorities can be wrong


Personal opinion
DEDUCTIVE REASONING

A thinking process in which


one proceeds from general to
specific knowledge through
logical argument
DEDUCTIVE REASONING

An argument consists of a number of statements


standing in relation to one another
Syllogism
“All men are mortal” (major premise)
“The king is a man” (minor premise)
“Therefore, the king is mortal” (conclusion)
DEDUCTIVE REASONING

Sherlock Holmes frequently would say, “I deduce ...”


as he combined previously unconnected facts in such a
way as to imply a previously unsuspected conclusion
DEDUCTIVE REASONING- LIMITATIONS

Deductive conclusions are necessarily elaborations on


previously existing knowledge.
Deductive reasoning can organise what people already
know but it is not sufficient as a source of new knowledge.
Despite its limitations, deductive reasoning is useful in
research because it provides a way to link theory and
observation. Deductions from theory can help build
hypotheses, which are a vital part of scientific inquiry.
INDUCTIVE REASONING

An investigator should
establish general conclusions
on the basis of facts gathered
through direct observation.

Francis Bacon (1561–1626)


INDUCTIVE REASONING

Deductive: Every mammal has lungs. All rabbits


are mammals. Therefore, every rabbit has lungs.

Inductive: Every rabbit that has ever been observed


has lungs. Therefore, every rabbit has lungs.
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

Inductive–deductive method
Uses hypotheses
Gathers empirical data
On the basis of the evidence, they accept or
reject the hypotheses
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

Testing hypothesis by making


deductions from it and gathering
additional data to determine whether
these data would support the
hypothesis. From this method of
inquiry, Darwin was able to develop
his theory of evolution. This use of
both inductive and deductive
reasoning is characteristic of
modern scientific inquiry.
Quantitative Qualitative

Purpose To study relationships, cause To examine a phenomenon as


and effect it is, in rich detail

Design Developed prior to study
 Flexible, evolves during study


Approach Deductive; tests theory
 Inductive; may generate theory


Tools Uses preselected instruments The researcher is primary data


collection tool

Sample Uses large samples
 Uses small samples

Analysis Statistical analysis of numeric Narrative description and


data interpretation

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