The Abductive Art of Discovery

Abstract

Qualitative analysis requires intuition, imagination, sensitivity, the creative linking of ideas, and a certain degree of luck. Interpreting and making sense of qualitative data have thus often been seen more as an art than a systematic activity. Because of its unstandardized character, the process of interpreting qualitative data has remained insufficiently described. This article looks retrospectively at the interpretation procedures that were used in a recent qualitative study, with the aim of identifying recurring mechanisms and basic conditions of discovery. The study was designed according to the grounded theory approach and dealt with the way unaffected women manage their genetic risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Specifically, this article offers various examples of the analytical reasoning that led to the transformation of observations into intelligible accounts. Based on these examples, the article concludes by identifying and illustrating five key moments in the process of knowledge construction: making a surprising observation, adopting a general principle of meaning, formulating hypotheses, verifying hypotheses, and constructing plausible explanations. These moments are not necessarily sequential but are instead intermingled in a typically abductive way. The complex process of discovery described may provide guidance to qualitative researchers in approaching their data and help them make their interpretative reasoning explicit, thus improving the transparency and credibility of qualitative reports.