Application of the delphi into construction law research

Abstract

Law research tends to rely on the court cases, statues, and regulations as the main sources of information. The information gathered from these documents are often more credible and viewed as objective evidence. Yet, the primary data should not be ignored as it could provide a unique and first hand of information to a research, especially the primer data that elicited from the experts’ knowledge in the Delphi method. This paper aims to address and promote the application of the Delphi method into the construction law research. The objectives are (a) to review and examine on the fundamental principles and characteristics of the Delphi method and (b) to develop a conceptual framework to accommodate the Delphi into the construction law research. A detailed literature study was carried out on the Delphi methodology and construction law. Then, the findings were discussed for the mutual benefits concerned. The results revealed that the Delphi method is well suited for the construction law research as the nature and complexity of the practice in the construction industry. It is concluded that the Delphi method is a reliable and systematic approach not only towards social science research; but also practical for the construction law-oriented research.