Victoria Climbié Inquiry Data Corpus Project: Using the Delphi Method in Multidisciplinary Child Protection Research

• Published in: The British journal of social work 2006-06, Vol.36 (4), p.577-596
• Main Authors: Gabb, Jacqui, Balen, Rachel, Gibbs, Graham, Hall, Christopher, Teal, Andrew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child protection; Child welfare; Child Welfare Services; Criminal investigations; Cross examination; data corpus; Delphi method; Delphi research method; Interdisciplinary Approach; Professionals; Public inquiries; Questionnaires; Research methodology; Research methods; Research papers; Skills; Social research; Social Science Research; Social sciences research; Social work; Victoria Climbié Inquiry; Websites
• ISSN: 0045-3102; 1468-263X
• DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bch303

This paper introduces the Delphi research method and analyses its usefulness in multi-agency research. In particular, the authors examine how it was used in a project aimed at making the material generated by the Victoria Climbié Inquiry accessible to child welfare/protection professionals through organizing the oral evidence in such a way that it can become a web-based data corpus. The thematic analysis of research data-sets usually only reflects the theoretical and analytical ideas of the researchers; however, our research demonstrates that using the Delphi method incorporates thematic ideas both from researchers and from active professionals, thereby pooling expertise. Thus we argue that the Delphi method represents a valuable tool in multidisciplinary child welfare research as it embeds a breadth of expertise throughout the research process.