VERBAL PROTOCOL: analysis of the scientific production, 1941-2013

Abstract

The verbal protocol is an introspective technique of data collection during a task performance, in which an individual verbalizes aloud his/her thinking process. It is aimed to know the disciplines that are using the verbal protocol methodology. Methods: a Web of Science and Scopus databases search was conducted with the strategy thin*alou*. Results: a total of 1.481 documents were collected, some variables were extracted to analyze the scientific production (authorships, organizations, journals) and subject topics, as well as a specific analysis of the 82 articles authored by researchers from the Library and Information Science area. Conclusions: as a conclusion, this technique has been used for about 75 years, mostly to conduct researches in the university field in the Netherlands, United States of America and Canada in Psychology, Educational Sciences and Medicine, as well as other areas: Computer Sciences, Ergonomics, Library and Information Sciences, Nursing, among others.