The book reconstructs the form of logical thinking described by Charles Sanders Peirce, which is intended to lead to the discovery of the new: abduction. At the same time, it examines whether the hopes of many qualitative social researchers, to discover new insights through abduction in a rule-governed manner, are justified. Within qualitative social research, the abduction more precisely described by Charles Sanders Peirce holds a central position. Researchers often claim that their new research findings are due to abductive reasoning: thus, the new has been obtained through a logical and therefore convincing process. However, there are usually only sparse indications of the form and quality of this type of logical thinking. The book elaborates on the particular form and performance of this reasoning, incorporating Peirce's considerations and recent secondary literature.