The critical incident technique.

During the past ten years the writer and various collaborators have been engaged in developing and utilizing a method that has been named the "critical incident technique." It is the purpose of this article to describe the development of this methodology, its fundamental principles, and its present status. In addition, the findings of a considerable number of studies making use of the critical incident technique will be briefly reviewed and certain possible further uses of the technique will be indicated. The critical incident technique consists of a set of procedures for collecting direct observations of human behavior in such a way as to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems and developing broad psychological principles. The critical incident technique outlines procedures for collecting observed incidents having special significance and meeting systematically defined criteria. By an incident is meant any observable human activity that is sufficiently complete in itself to permit inferences and predictions to be made about the person performing the act. To be critical, an incident must occur in a situation where the purpose or intent of the act seems fairly clear to the observer and where its consequences are sufficiently