Comment Analysis

Comment analysis is a powerful way to enrich your Delphi results with qualitative insights.

While rating scales give you numbers, enabling comments allows participants to explain their reasoning—adding valuable depth behind the numbers.

Why Use Comment Analysis?

Comments often reveal critical insights that numbers alone cannot capture:

• They explain rating outliers
• They reveal reasons behind low consensus
• They shed light on why certain scenarios cluster together
• They are essential for meaningful interpretation of quantitative results

In research papers or theses, this qualitative depth often enriches the discussion section, where you explain not just the numbers, but the reasoning behind them.

How Comments Work in Durvey.org

Activate Comments for Any Rating

With Durvey.org, you can easily activate comments for any rating dimension—like probability, desirability, or impact.

Participants can then provide explanations, justifications, or even suggest additional scenarios.

Pro and Contra Comments

A popular setting in Durvey is the Pro and Contra option. This prompts participants to systematically list arguments for and against a scenario.

This structured approach:

• Helps balance perspectives
• Reveals potential trade-offs or risks
• Encourages critical thinking beyond initial ratings

Comment Likes and Peer Validation

Durvey also enables participants to "like" comments. Especially in later rounds, participants can see how others have argued and endorse comments they agree with.

This creates a form of peer validation and naturally highlights the most relevant or widely supported arguments.

Example:

If many participants "like" a particular pro argument for AI in healthcare, this suggests broader support or recognition within the group—even if their ratings differ.

Filtering and Analyzing Comments

Within the analysis interface, you can filter comments by:

• Scenario — Focus on specific topics
• Rating dimension — Compare reasoning across probability, desirability, etc.
• Stakeholder groups — Understand why different subgroups see things differently

This is particularly helpful if you want to understand which arguments are driving consensus or dissent.

How Durvey.org Simplifies Comment Analysis

Durvey.org makes comment analysis easy by:

• Listing all comments directly under each scenario
• Showing which comments got the most likes
• Letting you explore qualitative data by scenario, rating, or stakeholder

This way, you spend less time organizing data—and more time interpreting what truly matters.

Example: AI in Healthcare

Scenario:

"AI in healthcare—especially for diagnostics."

Pro arguments (most liked):

• "AI can improve diagnostic accuracy, especially for rare conditions." (15 likes)
• "Faster diagnosis means earlier treatment and better outcomes." (12 likes)
• "AI can reduce healthcare costs in the long term." (10 likes)

Contra arguments (most liked):

• "AI systems can inherit biases from training data, leading to inequitable care." (13 likes)
• "Job displacement for radiologists and diagnosticians is a real concern." (11 likes)
• "Data privacy and security risks need to be addressed first." (9 likes)

Interpretation:

This data shows a balanced view. While many support AI for improving accuracy and speed, concerns remain about bias, job impacts, and data privacy. The number of likes helps you prioritize which concerns or advantages resonate most within the panel.

Why Comment Analysis Matters

These qualitative insights are incredibly valuable—especially when interpreting quantitative results.

Comments provide the context that transforms raw numbers into actionable insights. They explain the "why" behind the "what," making your Delphi study results more credible, nuanced, and useful for decision-makers.

Automated Analysis with Durvey.org

Durvey.org takes care of all the heavy lifting—from data collection to advanced analyses and visualizations.

With just a few clicks, you can generate consensus measures, dissent patterns, scenario groupings, and comment summaries—all ready to interpret and report.