ABSTRACT
In an oral fact finding exercise, the participant is given a short description of a situation that has occurred or a decision that has been made but is now being challenged. The participant is then given a fixed, and often limited, time to gather additional information by asking questions of a resource person. The resource person is someone trained to have extensive information about the situation, and will answer questions posed by the participant, if asked properly. The participant then must make a specific recommendation about what should be done, and finally may be asked to defend that decision. This technique is sometimes called the incident method, because a specific incident has occurred and someone is asking for a clear recommendation on what to do next. The technique is also sometimes called a decision-making exercise, because the participant is required to make a specific decision, provide a rationale, and sometimes defend the decision in the face of opposing evidence. This exercise is different from the case study method, because it is conducted verbally and information is gathered orally from the resource person.
