Small Groups
Group Data Collection and Data
Generating Techniques
• The Delphi
Technique
• Focus Groups
• Brainstorming
• Nominal Group
Technique
(by Kofi)
(by Jenny)
(by Cristian)
(by Sara)
Attributes of small groups
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Group-based techniques involve the simultaneous use of
multiple participants in the data generation/collection
process
They vary greatly in terms of structure and application
”They have a role to play in the exploratory stages of a
study where the researcher seeks to involve potential
research participants in shaping the direction and scope
of an investigation”(Carney et al. 1996: 1024)
They are also used if the purpose of the researcher is to
increase the depth and scope of discussions on ideas
and issues (More 1987)
There is a better chance of getting to the “truth” if you
combine the judgment of many, rather than one.
Allows you to understand social phenomenon from the
viewpoints of the actors.
Complex problems often can only be addressed by
pooled intelligence (Moore 1987, as cited by Clayton
1997).
What is Delphi Technique?
• “It is a method for the systematic collection and
aggregation of informed judgments from a group of
experts on specific questions or issues. Repeat rounds
of this process can be carried out until full consensus is
reached”(Reid 1988: as in Williams & Christine 1994:
180)
• It is used to establish facts, forecast, generate ideas,
make decisions, and obtain information when adequate
information is not readily available.
• Three main groups are involved:
– Decision maker
– Researcher
– Participants
“obtain the most reliable consensus of opinion of a group of experts…by a
series of intensive questionnaires interspersed with controlled opinion
feedback” (Dalkey & Helmer 1963)
The Delphi Technique
Key Investigators
• The name Delphi ”originates
from the oracle at Delphi,
where the ancient Greeks
were said to be able to
forecast future
events”(Williams and Christine
1994: 181)
• First conceptualized in 1953 in
the USA by Air Force
sponsored Rand Corporation
for defense research
• Now widely used as a tool for
solving problems, planning,
http://www.is.njit.edu/pubs/delphibook/ch1.html
http://www.learn-usa.com/transformation_process/acf001.htm
and forecasting.
Underlying Logic
• Has roots in the Hegelian principle of achieving
Oneness of Mind through thesis, antithesis, and
synthesis.
• Anonymity and confidentiality of group members
enhances accuracy of responses
• heterogeneity within the group increases
trustworthiness and authenticity.
• Consensus serves as a test of validity
• There are problems and questions that are best
answered by people’s judgments and opinions.
Features of
Delphi Technique
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Highly structured
Non-interactive
Anonymity-questionnaire
Iteration-members look at all the responses of others
(sometimes in the form of stats)
– Controlled feedback-members provide feedback to
other’s responses
– Statistical aggregation of group responses
Delphi Technique Group Membercharacteristics
• Reflect current
knowledge
• Are recognized and
credible in the field
• Represent diverse
perspectives
Delphi Technique Process
• Researcher sets question(s) on an in issue of interest
• Researcher identifies and selects experts
• Researcher sends out initial open-ended question (s) to
the experts usually by post.
• Experts respond to question (s) and return them to
researcher.
• Researcher aggregates and analyzes responses.
• Researcher sends out categorized data back to group
members to rank and add comments.
• More rounds of the same until a high level of consensus
is achieved.
Disciplines that use this technique
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Military
Education
Medicine
Business
Economics
Social and Biological Sciences
Urban and regional planning
Strengths of the
Delphi Technique
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It’s flexibility allows for considerable diversity in application
Consensus on expert opinion provides evidence for concurrent validity
Minimizes the influences of dominant people on small groups (Write, 2006)
Panel members have the opportunity to retract, alter, or add new ideas in
subsequent “rounds.”
The anonymity and confidentiality of panel members ensure honest
responses
Efficient means of gathering information and wisdom from geographically
separated experts at relatively low cost
Results can be viewed as highly trustworthy if “quality” members were
chosen.
Personal and political conflict among group members can be avoided.
Good for situations where purely quantitative methods are not appropriate;
where human judgment and input is necessary.
It allows for the participation of larger groups of people than other group
techniques
Weaknesses of the
Delphi Technique
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Large time and energy investment required of members
Lack of accountability with the anonymous nature of decision making
Absence of a concrete criteria for identifying experts
Low response rates in final “rounds” result in response biases
Trustworthiness and reliability depends on the selection of, the willingness
of, and ability of group members.
Results are highly dependent on how the researcher frames the topic and
questions, and interprets the results.
Difficulty of determining the point at which consensus is reached
There is no consensus on the size of panel which often ranges between 101565 members (Mead 1992)
There is no evidence of replicability of findings (Williams and Christine
1994)
Focus
Group
History
• 1930’s – social scientists searching for an alternative to the
individual interview – seeking in-depth information, and a less
intrusive role for the researcher.
• Stuart A. Rice one of the first social scientists to lead the search for
a new method.
• Shift to nondirective interviews with open ended questions,
continuing work in the social sciences by Roethlisberger, Dickson,
and Rogers in areas such as employee motivation and
psychotherapy.
More History on Focus Groups
• World War II interview techniques used in
groups, and the focus group was born.
Pioneered by Robert K. Merton in his studies of
morale in the U.S. military. A classic work is The
Focused Interview (1956) by Merton, Marjorie
Fiske, and Patricia L. Kendall.
• Began being used by business sector for
marketing in 1950’s.
• Not widely accepted until the 1980’s by
academics.
Nowadays
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Market research: Learn how to sell more of a product or service. Short
turnaround in processing results, so no in-depth analysis of results.
Confidentiality is key; methods and results kept private to reduce
competition.
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Academic/Scientific: More concerned with reliability, rigor, peer review,
etc. Process had to be “defensible, systematic, and verifiable” (Kreuger &
Casey, p. 161). Goal is to contribute to theory or a body or research.
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Non-profit/Public: Pragmatic; goals are to make decisions, improve
programs/services, and be responsive. A mix of need for speedy results and
in-depth content analysis.
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Participatory Research: In early 90’s - began using volunteers as
researchers, from the community.
Characteristics of
Focus Groups
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Involve people: 6-8 or 10-12, Small enough for everyone to contribute but large
enough to provide diversity of interaction.
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People have certain characteristics: chosen because they have something in
common. Recruited based on the desired similarity. Traditionally were people who
didn’t know each other, but not always the case now.
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Qualitative data: a range of opinions across several groups (Kreuger & Casey, p. 11).
(Naturalistic approach).
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Focused discussions: questions are determined ahead of time, sequenced, and
open ended. Purpose is NOT to come to consensus.
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Skilled moderator
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Open, permissive environment
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Usually conducted until reach saturation. Typically 3-4 groups for each type of
participant.
Strengths of Focus Groups
• Ability to explore a topic in-depth, and
identify key ideas or concepts.
• Allows researcher to understand attitudes
and perceptions.
• Ability to interpret non-verbal responses.
• Group interaction can
facilitate new ideas and
ways of thinking.
Weaknesses of Focus Groups
• Dominant individuals may jeopardize individual
objectivity (Uhl 1983 as cited in Clayton, 2006).
• Pressure to conform may be present.
• Results from a small, purposive sample can be hard to
defend to a quantitatively oriented audience.
• Can be difficult to facilitate and requires a skilled
moderator.
• Can be costly - incentives are usually necessary.
To use or not to use?….that is the
question
• Uses of Focus Groups:
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Decision making
Product or program development
Customer satisfaction
Planning and goal setting
Needs assessment
Quality Movements
Understanding employee concerns
Policy making and testing
Primary or secondary research tool.
• Do not use focus groups when:
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You want consensus
You want to educate
You are seeking sensitive information
Emotionally charged or potential for conflict
Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
• First Developed by A.L. Delbecq and
A.H.VandeVen in 1972 (Sample, 1984)
• It is a structured variation of a small group
discussion method.
• Used to form a consensus.
• Used when there is
controversy or conflict
Nominal Group Technique-what is
involved?
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Generating Ideas: Each individual in the group
silently generates ideas and writes them down.
Recording Ideas: Group members engage in a
round-robin feedback session to concisely record
each idea.
Discussing Ideas: Each recorded idea is then
discussed to obtain clarification and evaluation.
Voting on Ideas: Individuals vote privately on the
priority of ideas, and the group decision is made
based on these ratings.
Here is
how NGT
works
• Divide the people present into small groups of 5-6
• State an open-ended question.
• Give individuals time to brainstorm by themselves and
write down their ideas.
• Have group members share their ideas one at a time
around the table and have someone record on flip chart
• Have individuals look at the compiled list and pick the
best ideas and rate privately.
• Have individuals share their choices with each other and
then present to the larger group, which ideas got the
most points.
Strengths
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Balances participation across members.
Balances influence of individuals.
Can generate more creative ideas than interacting
groups.
Can produce a greater number of ideas than do
traditional interacting groups.
Reduces the conforming influence common to most
face-to-face group meetings.
Encourages participants to confront difficult issues on
a problem-solving basis rather than on a personal
assault basis.
Leads to greater sense of closure and
accomplishment.
Weaknesses
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Requires advance preparation, which means
that it cannot be a spontaneous technique.
Tends to be limited to a single-purpose, singletopic meeting-narrow focus.
Needs agreement from all participants to use
the same structured method, which
some people might resist.
Can feel mechanical.
BRAINSTORMING
TECHNIQUE
Since 1954 Until Now
Key Investigators
Alex F. Osborn (1953) Applied Imagination
• Described the BST
• Presented example of how BST could be used
• First Time Tested
– (1958) by Taylor, Berry and Block
» Claiming that groups using BST could generate more ideas
than the same number of individuals working separately.
Disciplines that led the way
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Business
Psychology
Marketing
Education
In all these cases the groups are seen as
the essential part of an organization.
Has the purpose for which the methods
were developed changed?
• Has not changed dramatically.
– BST still mainly focuses on generating ideas
in the business area, but also in new areas
such as education, psychology.
– However, those ideas are more focused on
solving a specific problem or issue.
– BST has adapted to the growing wave of
technology (electronic brainstorming).
Original and Modern Techniques
ORIGINAL
– Central Theme: “groups generate more ideas if their
members concentrate on producing whatever ideas
occur to them” (Gallupe et al., 1992, p. 351)
• Developed to look for new ideas that would help to sell
products.
• An experimentation process.
– Find things that help
– Identify and avoid things that were inhibitive
• Is both a group technique and a problem-solving technique.
• Doesn’t focus on a specific problem or issue.
• Up to 12 participants, which is confirmed in other studies
Underlying Logic of BST
GENERAL RULES
– Suppression of critical attitudes.
• Is to postpone criticism during brainstorming
Don’t try to drive with your brakes on
– Free wheeling is welcome
• Release the imagination
Be wild in your thinking
– Quantity of ideas is desired
• As many as possible
• The law of probability goes in favor
– Combination and improvement of ideas
• Others can reinforce or supplement other
ideas
• Everyone’s experience is different
Brainstorming,
at its finest!
The Brainstorming Technique
NOWADAYS
– Generation of ideas in response to a given question
or issue. (More focused)
– Maintain the same general rules, but add some
operative rules
• Someone must be asked to manage the session
• A good environment is essential (Facilitator responsibility)
– Several techniques can be used
• Face-to-face brainstorming
– Freewheeling, Carousel, Slip Method
• Anonymous brainstorming
– Electronic brainstorm
Strengths of Brainstorming
• Listening exercise that allows creative
thinking for new ideas
• Encourages full participation because all
ideas equally recorded
• Draws on group's knowledge and
experience
• Spirit of congeniality is created - one idea
can spark off other ideas
Weaknesses of Brainstorming
• Low productivity
– due to the facilitator
• can be unfocused
• people may have difficulty getting away from known reality
• criticism and evaluation may occur
– What the facilitator has to do
• Follow the original rule, but also:
– Don’t tell stories
– Don’t explain ideas
– Keep people talking
Weaknesses of Brainstorming
• Low productivity
– due to Social factors
• Productive blocking- not all can speak at the same time.
– Forget ideas/or decide not to share them
– Difficult to process ideas
» Other ideas distract/interfere with thinking
• Social comparison process - matching performance
– To the least productive member
» Inhibitive the generation of rich ideas
• Evaluation Apprehension- fear of critique
– Not to present original ideas
• Free - riding and Social loaf- When group members
perceived their own contribution to be
– Unidentifiable
– Dispensable
Brainstorm Members Should...
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Enter in the process with an open mind
Come from different disciplines
Not critique other ideas during the session
Be willing to work on other ideas (improve
them)
• Respect and follow the instructions of the
facilitator
NOMINAL (Activity) BRAINSTORM
What are ways the UI could
be more environmentally
sustainable?
• Nominal Group
Stay in this room
• Brainstorm Group
Go in hallway
Nominal group
• Basic Steps
– Individual brainstorming (5 min.).
– Sharing your ideas round robin (moderator
will write them down).
– Discuss list, if necessary.
– Ranking the ideas individually by voting on
the top 5.
– Share your top five (moderator will tally
votes).