What we know about Delphi Techniques: A Bibliometric Analysis for the Health Sciences

Author(s): Julia Schifano, Larissa Karl, Marlen Niederberger

Delphi techniques are widely used in the health sciences and many methodological variants and modifications exist. This raises the question of whether there are typical profiles in the use of Delphi techniques between the medical-scientific and social-behavioral disciplines that are reflected in publications. We examine which authors are cited in publications on Delphi techniques and whether clusters, showing how knowledge about Delphi techniques is connected in the health sciences, can be identified. To this end, we search the Web of Science database (search terms: “Delphi” in the title, “health*” in the title or abstract, filter: “Article”, year: 2017-2023) for original research in English.

The included publications (n=1,618) were analyzed using descriptive bibliometric methods and co-citation analysis to reveal clusters and networks of cited references (n=55,137) and authors (n=42,906), using the software VOSviewer (version 1.6.20). In 2023, the number of health science publications on primary studies using Delphi techniques has increased threefold since 2017. Analysis of the most cited references shows that methodological publications on Delphi techniques are cited on the topics of epistemology, Delphi application, quality assurance and methodological reflection. References from the health sciences are cited more frequently than methodological key literature. The cited authors are mostly based in the UK and have expertise in statistics. Of the most cited authors, 23 have published no more than two Delphi studies. Cluster analysis of cited references and authors suggests a degree of distance between medical-scientific and social-behavioral clusters. Different topics can be identified, but not distinct methodological practices.