Swarmcheck Services
The Delphi Method
Swarmcheck is suitable for conducting a methodologically correct Delphi process. The Delphi method allows domain experts to reach a consensus on the issue under study and makes the accuracy of their assessment more likely.
Swarmcheck is an application designed to quickly reach conclusions on the basis of complex information gathered from many people.
The Swarmcheck app-assisted Delphi method will work well when you want to:
→ Coordinate the research work of international expert teams or distributed research centres
→ Carry out strategic foresight
→ Solve strategic challenges based on consensus among domain experts
→ Develop forecasts and possible technology development scenarios
→ Involve a wider range of stakeholders in projects
→ Produce scientific publications
What distinguishes a Delphi study when it is supported by Swarmcheck?
Working remotely and asynchronously, without the need for live meetings.
Knowledge synthesis and consensus building supported by application design.
Visualisation of logical and argumentative relationships between expert opinions.
Minimisation of the negative impact of communication barriers and other phenomena resulting from the social dynamics of group work.
Organising complex content from multiple people in a simple and intuitive way.
Application designed based on research on group intelligence, optimised for the fastest development of high quality conclusions.
Depending on your needs, we offer:
Support for the technology
Consultancy for planning the process
Moderation of the research process
Preparation of a report with the results
Acquisition of experts
Details of the Delphi research methodology:
The process begins by dividing the main research issue into sub-issues and then subjecting them to anonymous estimation among experts.
In the next step, the level of expert consensus is checked by calculating the standard deviation of the collected estimates. A high standard deviation indicates a low level of consensus among the experts, so there is a need to examine the premises on which they base their position.
At this stage, research participants should anonymously justify their estimates so that no social factors can influence their reasoning.
At the same time, the inferences must be cumulatively presented in a transparent and precise manner, so that the other participants can learn the reasons behind the given estimates and have the opportunity to support or criticize the chosen justifications.
Swarmcheck allows this process to be carried out smoothly while adhering to the methodological requirements mentioned above through the use of interactive argumentation maps.
These maps simultaneously provide a medium for anonymous discussion, the knowledge base of the study, a graphical representation of how different perspectives affect the thesis under discussion, and allow for a nuanced proof by precisely supporting or undermining specific arguments.
Once the argumentation stage is complete, experts update their own estimates based on the information acquired, and the consensus is calculated again. If the standard deviation is higher than predicted in advance, rounds of discussion and estimation are repeated, progressively expanding the maps with new arguments.
The Delphi study ends when the group of experts develops a consensus, so the previously assumed standard deviation of their opinions is reached, or there is stabilization of results between rounds. The argumentation maps created in the process, along with the estimates, become the basis for the final factual documentation, e.g. a report or a scientific article.