Nomothetic research aims to identify laws about human behaviour-the Greek word 'nomos' means 'law'. It assumes that it is possible to discover regularities of influence or behaviour, allowing experts to predict the likely outcomes of possible actions or innovations. So it looks for general principles, not specific cases. Idiographic research, by contrast, is all about exploring individuality or uniqueness. Idiographic research tends to focus on a single example, which might be a person, an event, a phenomenon, or an organization, and to analyse that example in depth.
As a result, idiographic methods are often used in case studies, and are characteristic of ethnographic research. Idiographic studies are likely to adopt an inductive rather than deductive approach, working on the idea that we may discover general principles through a deeper understanding of one or two instances, rather than by looking for common factors. Each type of research has its strengths: identifying common laws or principles has proved valuable in many areas of the social sciences, while studying uniqueness has brought useful insights and has often been the key to opening up new research areas.
Inductive approach implies moving from:
Correct Answer: 2. Particular to General
Solution:An inductive approach begins with specific observations or individual cases and moves toward general principles or theories.
It is commonly used in idiographic research, such as case studies and ethnography. The goal is to build theories based on in-depth understanding of a few instances.