Why All the Fuss? A Historical Overview of Scientific Inquiry‪.‬

Abstract Scientific method has sparked continuing debate among social scientists and those in the helping professions. The debate, in other forms, appeared in early Greek writings and finds its contemporary counterparts in the contest between inductive and deductive reasoning. The debate has appeared frequently in the literature and arose again in late 2004 among social workers. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the debate is not necessary. Therapists, researchers, and theorists may find important use for either method, and, in fact, may argue that the methods rely on each other.