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Table 2 Comparing the characteristics and issues of the Delphi method with other methods: a qualitative view

From: Is the Delphi method valid for business ethics? A survey analysis

Items/Method

Survey

Case analysis

Interview

Focus group

Delphi method

Classification of the degree of use in Business Ethics Field (1 less, 5 most)

5

4

3

2

1

Feedback

None

Low

Moderate to Low

High

Very High

Group assessment

None

None

None

Very High

Moderate

Communication flow

Low

High

Very High

Very High

High

Anonymity

Yes

None

None

None

Yesa

Consensus process

None

Moderate

None

Low

Very High

Expert range

More than 50

One or more

At least 10

[8–12]

[10-20b]

Expert (participants) dispersion

Very High

Moderate

Low

Very Low

Very High

Length of questionnaire

Long

Very Long

Medium

Medium

Short

Response rate

Low

High

High

Moderate

Moderate

Cost

Low

Very High

Very High

High

Moderate

Speed

Very Fast

Slow

Moderate

Fast

Very Slow

  1. aThere is anonymity among experts during the Delphi process, but there is no anonymity with the researcher
  2. bWith new technologies and because of the inclusion of computers in the process, with real-time Delphi it is possible to significantly increase the number of experts that could take part in a Delphi process; however, in a highly specific niche of expertise, it is accepted that 10–20 expert participants are enough. Other limits are considered as well: a lower one, for example, with mini-Delphi. In general, we have used the number of experts for the Delphi group according to Schmiedel et al. [58]