Experimental studies of group decision support systems: an assessment of variables studied and methodology

By early 1996, approximately 140 different controlled experiments had been published in 164 articles in refereed journals or conference proceedings, which examined processes and outcomes in computer-supported group decision making. This paper is a concise overview of what has been studied and how: the systems, independent and intervening variables manipulated or measured, and experimental procedures employed. A subsequent paper will examine the dependent variables and findings of the experiments. The purpose is not only to provide a comprehensive summary of past research, but also to critically assess what has been studied little or inadequately, in order to inform design choices for future experiments.