Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41381107›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Participants' experiences with the Delphi method: an online evaluation of a three-round Delphi across German-speaking countries.

Marlen Niederberger, Jessica Dieudonné, Julia Schifano, Susanne Vogt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Marlen NiederbergerDepartment of Research Methods in Health Promotion and Prevention, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany marlen.niederberger@ph-gmuend.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4892-7222
Jessica DieudonnéDepartment of Research Methods in Health Promotion and Prevention, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8753-2832
Julia SchifanoDepartment of Research Methods in Health Promotion and Prevention, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1802-8138
Susanne VogtDepartment of Health and Social Affairs, Hochschule Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Idstein, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-8901-6613

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study evaluates how participants experienced and assessed a three-round Delphi study on the terminology of developmental language disorders in childhood. It compares participants who completed all rounds (completers) with those who withdrew early (dropouts) and aims to derive methodological quality criteria for future Delphi studies.

designThe evaluation is based on a Delphi study conducted in 2021/2022 across five German-speaking countries. After the final round, n=179 experts (40% response rate) completed a standardised survey assessing their expertise, motivation, reasons for discontinuation, time commitment and perceptions of questionnaire and feedback design. Responses from completers (n=156) and dropouts (n=23) were analysed descriptively.

resultsMost participants had no prior experience with Delphi methods but rated the study positively and considered the topic highly relevant. Completers reported their subjective time commitment to be lower and rated the handling of the questionnaire more positively than dropouts. Feedback was used by nearly half of all experts and was more actively considered by completers. Lack of time was the most common reason for discontinuation.

conclusionThe findings confirm the feasibility and acceptance of the Delphi method in interdisciplinary health research. In addition to established methodological principles, topic relevance, clear communication and time commitment emerged as key areas for expert motivation and engagement.

Indexed as

Delphi TechniqueAdultFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesDelphi TechniqueMethodsSpeech pathologySurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID41381107
PMCPMC12699722

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.