The need to examine team processes with more innovative approaches is well-documented, as much of the literature has utilized self-report or subjective measures which are often biased, intrusive, and/or provide a static, retrospective evaluation (Kozlowski & Chao, 2018). Further, in the military, it is often impossible or unrealistic to have trained observers in dangerous or classified environments, or for warfighters to stop their tasks to take a survey. Recent advancements in technology (e.g., wearable sensors), coupled with the issues related to subjective data, have created new opportunities for researchers to examine team processes using less invasive or obtrusive approaches (Orvis et al., 2013). While such advancements in technology are promising for the development of unobtrusive and objectives measures, there are also well-documented concerns regarding the lack of rigor in the development of unobtrusive measures as they often lack conceptual or theoretical backing (Salas et al., 2015). As a result, the following paper takes a comparative look at an unobtrusive measure developed using a rigorous framework, the Rational Approach to Developing Systems-based Measures (RADSM; Orvis et al., 2013), with subjective measures from observers and survey assessments. The following paper utilizes data from a large-scale, military-inspired experimental research study with a variety of unobtrusive data (i.e., audio data, video data, and positional data) and subjective data (i.e., observations, survey measures) collected from five-person teams completing a military-like exercise. We present best practices for measure development and validation as well as insights regarding the strengths and limitations of both unobtrusive and subjective measures so that readers can better understand the different methodologies of capturing team processes and the implications of both within their own work. Lastly, we discuss the utility of quality unobtrusive data for optimizing team performance and assisting leadership in making personnel and team composition decisions.
Keywords
DATA, MILITARY LEARNING, WEARABLE DEVICES
Additional Keywords
Team Processes, Unobtrusive measures,