Think-Aloud Technique and Protocol Analysis in Clinical Decision-Making Research

Abstract

In this article, we aim to describe the practical aspects of research actions that should be taken into account when two methods--the think-aloud technique for data collection and protocol analysis as an analysis technique--are combined with research of decision making in acute clinical settings. These methods are rarely used together or written about in health care research. In addition, careful consideration of the pros and cons of study sampling, data collection, data management, and analysis techniques or approaches is still lacking when these methods are used in health care research. We discuss the background of the think-aloud technique and protocol analysis and review previous studies that have used these methods. The examples in the article are based on our study, in which we investigated the decision making of critical care experts. We find that the combination of the think-aloud technique and protocol analysis is applicable when investigating complex and overlapping decision-making processes and rapid, ad hoc decisions made by critical care experts.

Beyond the Team

“…A process of open-coding of field notes was used to identify data within major themes or categories. These categories were refined through a constant comparison method whereby coded data are compared with the rest of the data to establish analytical categories (38). Consistent with established qualitative analysis procedures (39), field notes and interview transcripts were iteratively coded utilizing the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 sensitizing framework and emerging themes.…”

How do community pharmacists make decisions? Results of an exploratory qualitative study in Ontario

“…9 Within the field of medicine, considerable literature has explored the nature of clinical reasoning. 10 Much of this literature has focused on the cognitive strategies physicians use to solve complex problems in ambiguous situations, including reasoning from first principles, application of guidelines/ algorithms or (most frequently) heuristic-based pattern recognition.…”

Positive thinking and physical activity motivation for one individual with multiple sclerosis: A qualitative case-study

“…The think-aloud process is an established method of collecting qualitative data (Al-Janabi et al 2013, Anderson-Lister and Treharne 2014, Lundgrén-Laine and Salanterä 2010, Koro-Ljungberg et al 2013, McGavock and Treharne 2011 with some strengths and limitations. Think-aloud interviews are less like a natural conversation than semi-structured interviews and require considerable attention in answering the questionnaires as well as verbal questions, which can be fatiguing (although this was not the case for Norman).…”