Paul's Dissertation :: Blog :: USING THE CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE

The Critical Incident Technique is best described by Flanagan in his initial article in the
July 1954 Psychological Bulletin. The critical Incident Method was used in more than a
thousand government, business, industrial and educational research projects, and in
dissertations, professional papers, etc.

The technique involves collection of brief, written, factual reports of actions taken in
response to explicit situations or problems in defined fields. "Incident reports" may be
written by people who took action in needed situations, by qualified observers, or both. An
incident is defined as "critical" when the action taken contributed to an effective
outcome (helped to solve a problem or resolve a situation; or led to development of a
unique, creative project) .An incident may also qualify as "critical" when the action taken
resulted in an ineffective outcome (e.g., a case when a partially resolved problem
created new problems or the need for further action).

A critical incident report should describe a situation, an action that was important,
significant "critical" in determining the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the
outcome.

Flanagan emphasized that "the critical incident technique... should be thought of as a
flexible set of principles which must be modified and adapted to meet the specific situation
at hand." Proposals must include a clear, concise statement of the purpose or aim of the
study; specifications for the types of data to be collected; plans for selecting the
population; guidelines for observing, interpreting and classifying the critical incidents;
plans for analyzing data and interpreting and reporting results.

Because critical incident data may be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, results
tend to be more precise, more explicit, and more usable than opinion poll data to study
issues related to education, business, industry, health care, and professional and working
life.

The critical Incident Technique has been used to identify "what people do" in a variety
of professions; e.g. : to identify factors important in defining criteria for "acceptable
performance" in many fields. Analysis of incident reports from participants and qualified
observers have helped to describe "critical requirements" in fields as diverse as piloting
and navigating aircraft, improving operation of complex devices, designing and
manufacturing safer automotive equipment, performing surgery, providing safe/effective
nursing care, and improving performance in many other fields.