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The purpose of this study is to review the literature on the Delphi method, its characteristics and current applications through an analysis of recent most-cited scientific papers, with an emphasis on three axes, namely, the number of rounds used, stakeholder participation relevance or only academic experts’ participation and the possibility of using indicators or techniques different from those related to descriptive statistics.

In total, 57 papers were initially reviewed, 10 of them with a high citation rate. Then, an analysis was made of papers in Scopus for the period 2015-2018 published in the Technological Forecasting and Social Change Journal and in the Futures and Foresight Journal, which had the characteristic of displaying quartile Q1 or Q2 in Scimago in addition to being in Scopus.

Among the main results, the authors observe the tendency to use fewer rounds, a higher prevalence of stakeholder participation and not only academic experts but also the use of new types of modified Delphi such as real-time spatial Delphi, Delphi group, market Delphi, real-world Delphi and policy Delphi.

Among the conclusions, the possibility of using other indicators or complementary techniques to the descriptive statistics is highlighted such as number of justifications or comments between rounds, coefficients to quantify the competence or degree of expertise of the participants, measures of the perception of the expert on the usefulness of the presented feedback, graphs of the number of arguments according to the number of questions, the Wilcoxon Ranked Pairs Test, the k means, Kolmogorov–Simonov test and the Mann–Whitney U-test.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how the classic Delphi method can be adapted and structured to ensure that specific research questions are clearly addressed.

As part of a larger mixed method project, a modified Delphi study was undertaken to explore factors influencing publication and non-publication of mental health nursing research.

This paper reports brief findings from the Delphi study. However, its main focus is the methodological issues arising from the Delphi method.

The paper argues that the classic Delphi method can be adapted and structured to ensure that specific research questions are able to be clearly answered. The adaptations are pragmatic in approach and in keeping with the general principles underpinning the Delphi method, while successfully addressing the problems of attrition and previous criticism of homogenous panels.

This paper offers some practical solutions to issue arising from undertaking research using the Delphi method.

A method to engage salient organisational stakeholders in identifying and ranking measures of healthcare improvement programs is described. The method is illustrated using Executive WalkRounds (EWRs) in a multi-site Australian Health District.

Subject matter experts (SMEs) conducted document analysis, identified potential EWRs measures, created driver diagrams and then eliminated weak measures. Next, a panel of executives skilled in EWRs ranked and ratified the potential measures using a modified Delphi technique.

EWRs measurement selection demonstrated the feasibility of the method. Of the total time to complete the method 79% was contributed by SMEs, 14% by administration personnel and 7% by executives. Document analysis revealed three main EWRs aims. Ten of 28 potential measures were eliminated by the SME review. After repeated Delphi rounds the executive panel achieved consensus (75% cut-off) on seven measures. One outcome, one process and one implementation fidelity metric were selected to measure and monitor the impact of EWRs in the health district.

Perceptions of weak relationships between measures and intended improvements can lead to practitioner scepticism. This work offers a structured method to combine the technical expertise of SMEs with the practical knowledge of healthcare staff in selecting improvement measures.

This research describes and demonstrates a novel method to systematically leverage formal and practical types of expertise to select measures that are strongly linked to local quality improvement goals. The method can be applied in diverse healthcare settings.

The Delphi technique is used to achieve consensus among experts and/or gain judgment on complex matters. This paper aims to discuss the classical Delphi and its advantages and disadvantages in qualitative research, particularly in hospitality.

The classical Delphi is characterized by the involvement of experts and its iterative nature. In an industry with high turnover and limited pools of specialist expertise this can lead to problems of attrition and management of the process. The paper presents two qualitative hospitality research case studies in which the classical Delphi is successfully modified to overcome its limitations.

Identifying potential problems early in the research process enables critical design decisions to be made. Case one used a parallel expert group with similar experience to develop a research instrument for a limited number of prestigious experts well‐acquainted with one another who might have reached specious consensus through channels not accessible to the researcher. Case two enabled the addition of new experts to an expert panel to overcome attrition in successive Delphi rounds.

Despite its growing popularity in social science, Delphi has rarely been used in qualitative hospitality research. The modifications suggested in this paper can enhance the robustness of the classical Delphi technique for qualitative hospitality research.

The paper shows how the classical Delphi technique can be successfully modified for use in qualitative hospitality research.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the combination of Delphi and focus group techniques and on the utilization of qualitative content analysis in this context. Moreover, it illustrates the potential of this hybridized methodology for gathering information from experts on multilingual practices in the primary school context in Germany in order to conceptualize a teacher training.

Based on a structured guideline, two group discussions with experts from the scientific community, schools and educational institutions (n=13; n=12) focused on language diversity in the school context, multilingualism, the heritage languages of children as well as on the role of language reflection and metalinguistic awareness in (second) language acquisition and development in primary school. Both group discussions were qualitatively analyzed, and inductive categories were framed.

The main aspects derived from the data were: teaching actors, their language awareness, their knowledge about multilingualism and attitudes toward it, characteristics of the materials and methods used in language lessons as well as students’ own experiences with both heritage and second language(s).

Following these domains derived from the analyses of the data, the authors developed a teacher training, systematically considering multilingual teaching practices and implications resulting from the modified Delphi-study.

Due to the fact that knowledge and experience of experts from research and school context had been taken into account, the teacher training measure achieved higher acceptance and efficacy.

This exercise provides comprehensive coverage of audit materiality, assessing inherent risk, and allocating tolerable misstatement appropriate for an undergraduate auditing course. The Delphi method could be an appropriate tool in any accounting setting where the learning goals involve judgment, consensus, or learning through group interaction.

This chapter describes a classroom exercise that required students to establish planning materiality, assess inherent risk associated with balance sheet accounts, and allocate tolerable misstatement using a modified application of the Delphi method. Additionally, the exercise calls attention to group processing skills and the role played by professional judgment in planning an audit. We assigned students to five-person audit teams and through a series of Delphi rounds asked them to establish planning materiality and assess the inherent risk associated with each balance sheet account for a fictitious company. Students prepared a matrix, both individually and as a team, that compared each statement account to every other account to determine which account in each pairing they viewed as having higher inherent risk. As a final step, they allocated tolerable misstatement mathematically for each account based on pairing results.

The result was a consensus of opinion and an early attempt at forming professional judgment. The students’ responses to a debriefing questionnaire and the results of a pre-/post-test suggest that the learning objectives of the exercise were met.

The specific learning objectives of the exercise were to help students understand the concepts of tolerable misstatement and planning materiality, the elements of inherent risk, the Delphi method for reaching group consensus, the need to work as a team, and the importance professional judgment plays in the audit process. The result was a consensus of opinion and an early attempt at forming professional judgment. The students’ responses to a debriefing questionnaire and the results of a pre-/post-test suggest that the learning objectives of the exercise were met.

The purpose of this paper is to design a model for selecting brand names on the basis of the perceptions of enterprises.

First, the proposed model adopts the modified Delphi method to identify suitable criteria for evaluating a brand name. Next, the model applies the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine the relative weights of evaluation criteria, then ranks the alternatives and selects the brand name. Finally, the model adopts sensitivity analysis to examine how other evaluative criteria would change with any changes in the weightings of the evaluation criteria.

The analytical results indicated that enterprises rank criteria in terms of importance as follows: emotional appeal, linguistics appeal, marketing appeal and legal appeal. In addition, the example of a renowned Taiwanese beverage company is used to demonstrate the process of brand name selection based on this model.

The proposed model helps enterprises effectively select a brand name, making it highly applicable in academia and commerce.

This study used the literature review and the modified Delphi method to evaluate the importance of the catering quality indices of university canteens in China. In order to compile the catering quality indices of university canteens in China as reference for the subsequent improvement of Chinese canteens.

This study first analysed literature data to establish the preliminary quality indices and used the modified Delphi method for measurement. After three rounds of Delphi analysis by 35 experts, the results of the catering quality indices of university canteens in China are summarised.

The research results show that university canteen catering quality issues are divided into six dimensions, including catering safety management, employee hygiene management, catering service, food quality, environmental atmosphere and corporate social responsibility. Catering safety management is the most important index, followed by employee hygiene management.

The research results can be used as suggestions for follow-up improvements in the quality of university canteens in China and a basis of reference for amendments to relevant national or local laws and regulations. The food prices, food quality and whether food hygiene and safety standards are met by university canteens are all related to the health and vital interests of the teachers and students, as well as the stability of the university. Therefore, the government should increase supervision in these aspects to avoid decline in the quality of meals due to low profits and enforce strict requirements for food safety.

Third‐party logistics (3PL) provider selection has gained great attention in logistics management literature. The purpose of this paper is to provide a good insight into the use of a‐two‐phase analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach that is a multi‐criteria decision‐making methodology in the evaluation of 3PL providers.

In this paper, after the selection criteria of 3PL providers are determined by modified Delphi method, the weights of criteria have been calculated by applying the AHP method. The TOPSIS method is then employed to achieve the final ranking results. And an actual case example is presented to clarify the methodology. Sensitivity analysis is also given to demonstrate how sensitive the proposed model is to changes in the weights of different main criteria.

This model provides decision makers with a simple, flexible, and easy‐to‐use approach to evaluate potential 3PL providers efficiently. Findings demonstrate that the proposed benchmarking framework, with minor modifications, can be useful to all firms in their 3PL provider selection decisions.

A two‐phase AHP and TOPSIS methodology is very flexible and suitable for various decision situations. However, selection of the appropriate 3PL provider requires consideration of multiple alternative solutions and evaluation criteria because of complex methodology, and hence it increases the effort.

This is probably the first time that an attempt has been made to apply the modified Delphi method, AHP and TOPSIS methodology in the decision of 3PL provider selection in a Turkish automotive supplier company. This is the most powerful motivation to consider this problem. In addition, the paper is especially of interest to managers as they make decisions on which criteria should be considered in the evaluation process and how a decision model should be structured by using a two‐phase AHP and TOPSIS methodology.

The purpose of this paper is to identify five quality improvement initiatives for healthcare system leaders, produced by such leaders themselves, and to provide some guidance on how these could be implemented.

A multi-stage modified-Delphi process was used, blending the Delphi approach of iterative information collection, analysis and feedback, with the option for participants to revise their judgments.

The process reached consensus on five initiatives: change information privacy laws; overhaul professional training and work in the workplace; use co-design methods; contract for value and outcomes across health and social care; and use data from across the public and private sectors to improve equity for vulnerable populations and the sickest people.

Information could not be gathered from all participants at each stage of the modified-Delphi process, and the participants did not include patients and families, potentially limiting the scope and nature of input.

The practical implications are a set of findings based on what leaders would bring to a decision-making table in an ideal world if given broad scope and capacity to make policy and organisational changes to improve healthcare systems.

This study adds to the literature a suite of recommendations for healthcare quality improvement, produced by a group of experienced healthcare system leaders from a range of contexts.