Group Research Bibliography

One fact that sets The SuddenTeams™ Program apart from standard team building methods is its basis in both science and practice. So far, Team Coach Jim Morgan has reviewed more than 550 scientific and business sources from fields such as social and industrial psychology, business communications, organizational behavior, economics, and others focused on small group research. As a former science writer, he knows to give more importance to:

• Studies published in peer-reviewed journals.
• Longitudinal studies, those that test a group at two or more times, which is the only way to know if a change in one measure caused a change in another measure (see "About Correlations").
• Studies or stories that use objective performance data instead of relying solely on manager or team member surveys, which are subject to bias.
• Meta-analyses and literature reviews by scientists that look at a number of studies on a given topic.
• Studies or stories that compare successful teams to similar failed teams, to see what was different between them.
• Correlations with confidence levels at or above 95%, a statistic commonly accepted among most scientists as evidence the result is not due to chance.

Before spending your time and money on popular team building events, ask the vendor how they know what they know. Is their method based on facts and analyses carefully tested in a variety of settings plus case studies from various industries? On methods somebody else wrote? On before-and-after data from their clients showing improvements to the team's output or costs? Or simply on their belief that it ought to work and surveys saying people enjoyed the experience?

Our methods have always been based on "The Science of Teams™." Here is the proof:

Bibliography (PDF, 29 pages)

Many of the studies are summarized in our free collection of team research articles. Advice on applying The Science of Teams in your team is a regular feature of our Teams Blog. If you have any questions about the bibliography or want some reading recommendations, contact us.