Application of Delphi method in construction engineering and management research : a quantitative perspective

Abstract

The Delphi method has been used as a main research method by a growing number of researchers in the Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) field in the past two decades. Although a number of studies are available on the use of Delphi, few researchers fully examine the potential of the Delphi method in the combined use of statistical techniques, which is an inevitable trend for future Delphi research. This paper aims to review the combined use of Delphi and other quantitative methods in the CEM field based on a structured literature review of 88 relevant papers. All of the 88 papers are systematically identified from ten well-known peer-reviewed CEM journals published in the period of 1990–2012. Topic coverage, application requirements, and statistical techniques in the 88 Delphi papers are reviewed. The mix use of the Delphi method with three advanced modelling methods, such as Fuzzy sets, Analytical Hierarchy Process, and Analytical Network Process is also examined. These review results provide practical references for researchers having interests in applying Delphi method in CEm research.