Beyond consensus: A review of delphi research published in Malaysian social science journals: A review of delphi research published in Malaysian social science journals

The Delphi method has been widely used as a judgement tool in social science research. To date, however, there has been little analysis of how the method has been used in the Malaysian context. Hence, the aim of this study was to review the Delphi studies published in Malaysian social science journals and seek further avenues to carry out more reliable and valid Delphi research. Our findings show that half of the selected studies used only a single Delphi round to obtain data, although a minimum of two rounds is needed to allow feedback and revision of responses. In addition, only one of the selected studies appeared to use a pre-test to improve the rigour of the Delphi method. The characteristics of the Delphi method are discussed in terms of enhancing rigour. The evidence from this study suggests that researchers aiming to conduct Delphi studies in the future need to make greater efforts to comply with the rigour that is typically required in such research. As one of the first studies to analyse how Malaysian researchers and practitioners have used the Delphi method in social science research, this paper provides further guidance for not only Malaysian academics and practitioners, but also other researchers interested in the Delphi method.