Nominal group technique
A way of moderating in which each person writes down their view before the group discusses it, so the first speaker does not sweep the others along.
Why does it matter for a brand?
In a group, the first strong opinion tends to set the others: whoever thinks differently goes quiet or goes along. For a brand, that can turn one person's opinion into false consensus, and a decision can end up resting on something the group never thought on its own. Writing before talking keeps a record of what each person thought without influence, and shows afterwards what changed with the discussion and what did not.
How does WAV handle it?
We use it in every group. Before discussing a stimulus or a key question, each person writes down their answer, for example whether they think a statement is true, false or are not sure. Then the group talks. The analysis compares what was written with what was said, and the report separates what the group thought at the start from what it concluded at the end.
What should you ask before a study?
- At which moments of the session do participants write before talking?
- Does the report separate what each person thought before the discussion from what was said afterwards?
- What happens to a written view that nobody repeated out loud?
This term is part of the qualitative research glossary, which defines the fifteen terms that come up in any study; it is most closely related to moderator, discussion guide and stimulus. To see it applied, browse the sample report, built from a fictional study: it is the same format a client receives.