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Inductive and Deductive Coding
Inductive and deductive coding are two different approaches to qualitative coding. You can choose one or the other, or utilize a hybrid approach of both.

Inductive coding
Inductive coding is a groundup approach where you derive your codes from the data. You don’t start with preconceived notions of what the codes should be, but allow the narrative or theory to emerge from the raw data itself. This is great for exploratory research or times when you want to come up with new theories, ideas, or concepts.

Deductive Coding
Deductive coding is a topdown approach where you start by developing a codebook with your initial set of codes. This set could be based on your research questions or an existing research framework or theory. You then read through the data and assign excerpts to codes. At the end of your analysis, your codes should still closely resemble the codebook that you started off with. This is good when you have a predetermined structure for how you need your final findings to be. For example, program evaluation studies may utilize a deductive approach.