Ralitsa Akins|Homer Tolson|Bryan R. Cole
Stability of response characteristics of a Delphi panel: application of bootstrap data expansion
Texas A&M University System|Texas A&M University|Texas A&M University
abstract background delphi surveys panels experts particular area interest widely utilized fields clinical medicine nursing practice medical education healthcare services despite wide applicability delphi methodology clear identification constitutes sufficient number delphi survey participants ensure stability results methods study analyzed response characteristics first round delphi survey conducted 23 experts healthcare quality patient safety panel members similar training subject matter understanding malcolm baldrige criteria performance excellence healthcare raw data first round sampling usually contains largest diversity responses augmented via bootstrap sampling obtain computergenerated results two larger samples obtained sampling replacement response characteristics mean trimmed mean standard deviation 95 confidence intervals 54 survey items compared responses 23 actual study participants two computergenerated samples 1000 2000 resampling iterations results results study indicate response characteristics small expert panel welldefined knowledge area stable light augmented sampling conclusion panels similarly trained experts possess general understanding field interest provide effective reliable utilization small sample limited number experts field study develop reliable criteria inform judgment support effective decisionmaking