The value of visualizing shared rationales for identifying hidden profiles in virtual group decision-making

当人们想到一个群体聚集在一起做出决定时，一种普遍的看法是，群体讨论使成员能够将他们不同的知识汇集在一起，这样群体就比个人做出更明智的决定。与这种普遍的信念相反，小组成员倾向于汇集和讨论共同的信息，同时留下独特的信息。这种信息共享现象的结果是，需要组将唯一信息集中在一起的正确决策不能被组识别，因此被称为“隐藏配置文件”。与面对面群体相比，虚拟群体决策活动更容易受到隐藏档案问题的影响，因为它的沟通媒介更精简。本研究试图通过探讨在虚拟群体决策中共享和可视化群体成员的理论基础的价值，来解决虚拟群体决策中的隐藏群体问题。具体而言，将利用两种可视化机制，即基于作者的机制和基于信息的机制，设计和实施两个协作应用程序，以提供共同理由的协作可视化。可视化技术的有效性将通过实验室对照研究来检验，其中虚拟群体将在三种情况下执行隐藏的配置文件任务：仅即时消息(IM)、IM+基于作者的可视化机制的协作应用以及IM+基于信息的可视化机制的协作应用。在这项研究中开发的协作应用程序将向群件研究人员和公众开放。在短期内，研究将重点放在分享和可视化群体成员在解决隐藏档案问题上的理性基础上的价值，而未来的研究将着眼于他们在虚拟群体的知识构建、知识管理和集体智力中的价值。

When people think of a group getting together to make a decision, a common perception is that group discussion enables the members to pool their diverse knowledge together so the group makes a more informed decision than individuals. Contrary to this common belief, group members tend to pool and discuss common information while leaving unique information behind. As a result of this information pooling phenomenon, the correct decision that requires the group to pool together the unique information together cannot be identified by the group, hence is called the "hidden profile". Virtual group decision-making activities are more vulnerable to the hidden profiles problem because of its leaner communication media compared to face-to-face groups. The proposed research attempts to address the hidden profiles problem in virtual group decision-making by exploring the value of sharing and visualizing group members' rationales in a virtual hidden profile task. Specifically, two collaborative applications will be designed and implemented to provide the collaborative visualization of the shared rationales, using two visualization mechanisms, namely, author-based and information-based mechanisms. The effectiveness of the visualization techniques will be examined through a lab controlled study where virtual groups will conduct a hidden profile task under three conditions: Instant Messenger (IM) only, IM + the collaborative application with author-based visualization mechanism, and IM + collaborative application with information-based visualization mechanism. The collaborative applications developed in this research will be made accessible to groupware researchers and public. While in the short term, the research will focus on the value of sharing and visualizing the group members' rationales in addressing the hidden profiles problem, future research will look at the their value in virtual group's knowledge building, knowledge management, and collective intelligence.