Many social and life scientists use the inductive approach. It focuses on observation in situations where one does not know what to look for. A trained social and life scientist can observe interesting and surprising behaviors that need explanation.
The deductive reasoning approach follows the opposite direction. One starts with a theory about the topic of interest, and defines hypotheses in order to test the theory. Controlled experiments may be defined and executed so that one can derive observations that one can compare with the predicted behavior. This may lead to confirmation or falsification of the original theory. An example of deductive reasoning is seen with an experimental social scientist who tests the prediction that humans will take into account the welfare of others in making decisions. An experiment is developed to test the theory in a controlled setting where the subjects have to make decisions. The results may confirm or falsify the original theory, and one can compare which theories best explain the observations.