Expert Selection

Expert Selection

An expert has substantial knowledge or skill in a particular domain. The discussion in Chapter 1 distinguishes explicit knowledge that can be stated and taught from tacit knowledge developed through experience. Expertise can involve semantic knowledge of ideas and concepts, procedural knowledge of how to perform tasks, and episodic knowledge of particular experiences that provide useful examples.

The framework proposes these criteria for selecting an expert:

• Technical credentials. Education is the cornerstone of the technical dimension of a person’s expertise, with advanced degree in closely related fields being the most readily recognized foundation. In professional practice areas, such as medicine, law, or accounting, that offer or even require licensing by recognized accrediting bodies, appropriate license further strengthens the technical dimension of one’s expertise. Lastly, membership in professional societies may add a yet another, albeit softer accentuation of technical expertise.
• Relevant experience. Although generally viewed as complementary to education, there are some aspects of knowledge that can only be acquired by means of ‘doing’. For example, a management scholar and an experienced business manager might exhibit noticeably different understanding and interpretation of certain aspects of organizational behavior.
• Independent contributions. A subset of virtually all education- and experience-based groups are those that made unique, even trend-setting contributions to their field. In any domain of knowledge and professional practice there are a handful of individuals – just think of names like Einstein, Shakespeare, or Buffett – whose achievements or contributions make them stand out in their respective peer groups.
• Forecasting ability. Although education and experience offer a foundation upon which one can draw to form professional judgment about related but new situations, those foundations alone are not sufficient to form credible professional opinions. What is also required is the ability to generalize, or draw inferences from one’s accumulated knowledge and experience in a manner that retains those aspects that are generalizable (i.e., can be applied to multiple similar situations) while setting aside those that are unique to individual instances.
• Willingness to engage. Many expert judgment situations may require more than just scratching of one’s ‘expert head’ – some situations may demand even the most knowledgeable and experienced experts to devote time and effort to learning specifics of situations of interest, and even engaging in additional topical research. To be a valid expression of one’s expertise, opinions of experts need to be expressions of thoughtful and careful considerations.