"Thinking aloud": data collection in the natural setting
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Updated: Oct 10, 2026

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data
Published on: July 27, 2018
1Staff Development Unit, Canberra Hospital, Australia.
Abstract:
Knowledge of how nurses make decisions is a desirable outcome of research. However, there currently exists an inadequacy in the techniques used to examine such decision making. In this article, the authors describe the techniques used in two studies incorporating "thinking aloud" to successfully examine the decision making of expert critical care practitioners in the natural setting. Both techniques of thinking aloud were found to provide useful information regarding decision making in the natural setting. No ethical implications were experienced in conducting these studies in the natural setting. In conclusion, the use of thinking aloud in the natural setting is an effective means of data collection.
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