Abstract
Problem-structuring group workshops can be used in organizations as a consulting tool and as a research tool. One example of the latter is using a problem-structuring method (PSM) to help a group tackle an organizational issue; meanwhile, researchers collect the participants’ initial views, discussion of divergent views, the negotiated agreement, and the reasoning for outcomes emerging. Technology can help by supporting participants in freely sharing their opinions and by logging data for post-workshop analyses. For example, computers let participants share views anonymously and without being influenced by others (as well as logging those views), and video-cameras can record discussions and intra-group dynamics. This paper evaluates whether technology-supported Journey Making workshops can be effective research tools that can capture quality research data when compared against theoretical performance benchmarks and other qualitative research tools.
References
Ackermann F, Eden C and Williams T (1997). Modelling for litigation: mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches. Interfaces 27 (2): 48–65.
Aiken M and Waller B (2000). Flaming among first-time group support system users. Inform & Mngt 37: 95–100.
Argyris C (2004). Reasons and Rationalizations: The Limits to Organizational Knowledge. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
Barley S (1996). Technicians in the workplace: ethnographic evidence for bringing work into organisation studies. Admin Sci Quart 41: 404–440.
Bauer MW and Gaskell G (2000). Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound. Sage Publications: London.
Bottoroff J (1994). Using videotaped recording in qualitative research. In: Morse J (ed). Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp 244–261.
Bryman A (1993). Quantity and Quality in Social Research. Routledge: London.
Casu B, Shaw D and Thanassoulis E (2005). Using a group support system to aid input-output identification in DEA. J Opl Res Soc 56: 1363–1372.
Checkland P (2001). Soft systems methodology. In: Rosenhead J and Mingers J (eds). Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp 61–90.
Checkland P and Scholes J (1999). Soft Systems Methodology in Action. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK.
Collier PM, Edwards JS and Shaw D (2004). Communicating knowledge about police performance. Int J Product & Perform 53: 458–467.
Dennis AR, Valacich JS, Connolly T and Wynne BE (1996). Process structuring in electronic brainstorming. Inform Syst Res 7: 268–277.
Denzin NK (1970). The Research Act in Sociology. Butterworth: London.
Diehl M and Stroebe W (1987). Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: Toward the solution of a riddle. J Pers Soc Psychol 53: 497–509.
DuFon MA (2002). Video recording in ethnographic SLA research: Some issues of validity in data collection. Language Learn Technol 6: 40–59.
Eden C (1995). Using cognitive mapping for Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA). In: Rosenhead J (ed). Rational Analysis for a Problematic World. Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp 21–42.
Eden C (2004). Analyzing cognitive maps to help structure issues or problems. Eur J Opl Res 159: 673–686.
Eden C and Ackermann F (1998). Making Strategy: The Journey of Strategic Management. Sage: London.
Eden C and Ackermann F (2001). Group decision and negotiation in strategy making. Group Decis Negot 10: 119–140.
Eden C and Ackermann F (2004). Cognitive mapping expert views for policy analysis in the public sector. Eur J Opl Res 152: 615–630.
Edwards JS, Collier PM and Shaw D (2003). Making a journey in knowledge management strategy. J Inform Knowl Mngt 2 (2): 135–152.
Edwards JS, Collier PC and Shaw D (2005a). Knowledge Management and Its Impact on the Management Accountant. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants: London.
Edwards JS, Hall M and Shaw D (2005b). Proposing a systems vision of knowledge management in emergency care. J Opl Res Soc 56: 180–192.
Edwards JS and Shaw D (2004). Supporting knowledge management with IT. In: Meredith R, Shanks G, Arnott D and Carlsson S (eds). Decision Support in an Uncertain and Complex World: Proceedings of the 2004 IFIP WG8.3 International Conferences on Decision Support Systems DSS2004. Monash University, Victoria, Australia, pp 233–242.
Edwards JS, Shaw D and Collier PM (2005c). Knowledge management systems: finding a way with technology. J Knowl Mngt 9: 113–125.
Franco L, Cushman M and Rosenhead J (2004). Project review and learning in the construction industry: embedding a problem structuring method within a partnership context. Eur J Opl Res 152: 586–601.
Frankfort-Nachmias C and Nachmias D (1996). Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Arnold Press: London.
Friend J and Hickling A (2005). Planning Under Pressure: The Strategic Choice Approach. Elsevier: London.
Grimshaw AD (1982). Sound-image data records for research on social interaction: Some questions and answers. Sociol Methods Res 11: 121–144.
Grise ML and Gallupe RB (1999). Information overload in face-to-face electronic meetings: an integrative complexity approach. J Mngt Inform Syst 16: 157–185.
Guba EG and Lincoln YS (1989). Fourth Generation Evaluation. Sage: Newbury Park, CA.
Hickling A (2001). Gambling with frozen fire? In: Rosenhead J and Mingers J (eds). Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp 151–180.
Huxham C and Dando M (1981). Is bounded vision an adequate explanation of strategic decision-making failures? OMEGA 9: 371–379.
Janis IL (1982). Groupthink. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston.
Johnson P and Johnson G (2002). Facilitating group cognitive mapping of core competencies. In: Huff AS and Jenkins M (eds). Mapping Strategic Knowledge. Sage, London, pp 220–236.
Kelly GA (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs: A Theory of Personality. Norton: New York, NY.
Kitzinger J (1999). Focus groups with users and providers of health care. In: Pope C and Mays N (eds). Qualitative Research in Health Care. BMJ Books, London, Chapter 3, pp 20–29.
Klein HK and Myers MD (1999). A set of principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive field studies in information systems. Mngt Inform Quart 23: 67–94.
Kvale S (1996). Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Lee AS and Baskerville RL (2003). Generalizing generalizability in information systems research. Inform Syst Res 14: 221–243.
Lofland J and Lofland LH (1995). Analysing Social Settings: A Guide To Qualitative Observation And Analysis. Wadsworth Publishing Company: Belmont, CA.
Loizos P (2000). Video, film and photographs as research documents. In: Bauer MW and Gaskell G (eds). Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound. Sage Publications, London, pp 93–107.
Miles MB and Huberman AM (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Mingers J (2003). A classification of the philosophical assumptions of management science methods. J Opl Res Soc 54: 559–570.
Morgan D (1988). Focus Groups as Qualitative Research. Sage Publications: London.
Ormerod RJ (1995). Putting soft OR methods to work—information systems strategy development at Sainsbury's. J Opl Res Soc 46: 277–293.
Ormerod RJ (1999). Putting soft OR methods to work: the case of the business improvement project at PowerGen. Eur J Opl Res 118: 1–29.
Osborn AF (1953). Applied Imagination. Charles Scribner's Sons: New York, NY.
Phillips L and Phillips M (1993). Facilitated work groups: theory and practice. J Opl Res Soc 44: 533–549.
Pidd M (1996). Tools For Thinking: Modelling in Management Science. John Wiley & Sons Ltd: Chichester, England.
Rosenhead J and Mingers J (2001). Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester.
Rutkowski A-F and Smits M (2001). Constructionist theory to explain effects of GDSS. Group Decis Negot 10: 67–82.
Shaw D (2003a). Evaluating electronic workshops through analysing the ‘brainstormed’ ideas. J Opl Res Soc 54: 692–705.
Shaw D (2003b). Mapping knowledge in groups. In: Edwards JS (ed). Proceedings of Knowledge Management Aston Conference. Operational Research Society, Birmingham, UK, pp 363–374.
Shaw D and Edwards JS (2005). Building user commitment to knowledge management strategy. Inform Mngt 42: 977–988.
Shaw D, Ackermann F and Eden C (2003a). Approaches to sharing knowledge in group problem structuring. J Opl Res Soc 54: 936–948.
Shaw D, Baker B and Edwards JS (2006). Communities of implementation. In: Coakes E and Clarke S (eds). Encyclopedia of Communities of Practice in Information and Knowledge Management. Idea Group Reference, London, pp 35–42.
Shaw D, Edwards JS, Baker B and Collier PM (2003b). Achieving closure through knowledge management strategy. Elect J Knowl Mngt 1: 197–205.
Shaw D, Westcombe M, Hodgkin J and Montibeller G (2004). Problem structuring methods for large group interventions. J Opl Res Soc 55: 453–463.
Trochim W (2001). The Research Methods Knowledge Base. Atomic-Dog Publishing: Cincinnati, OH.
van der Heijden K and Eden C (1998). The theory and praxis of reflective learning in strategy making. In: Eden C and Spender J-C (eds). Managerial and Organizational Cognition. Sage, London, pp 58–75.
White L and Taket A (2000). Exploring the use of narrative analysis as an operational research method: A case study in voluntary sector evaluation. J Opl Res Soc 51: 700–711.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shaw, D. Journey Making group workshops as a research tool. J Oper Res Soc 57, 830–841 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602155
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602155