Eight graduate students and two faculty members gathered recently (23-27 May 2016) for a workshop on Q methodology held in the Kent State University College of Education, Health, and Human Services, Kent, OH. The workshop was directed by Steven R. Brown, adjunct professor of evaluation and measurement in the College.
Four of the students were nutrition majors from Virginia Tech University, who were brought to the workshop by their instructor, Professor Vivica Kraak. Also in attendance was Barea Sinno (political science, Rutgers), Megan Hinzman (environmental studies, Saskatchewan), Kelli Ryan and Ahlam Alghamdi (evaluation and measurement, Kent State University), and Professor Desirée Hensel (nursing, Indiana). The week-long workshop covered history and principles, concourse theory, Q sorting, the structuring of Q samples and P sets, correlation and factor analysis, factor rotation, and the calculation of factor scores and their interpretation. In-class data were obtained from the Q sorting of possible Q methodology issues in which participants had interest, such as conceptual frameworks for selecting Q statements, the role of reliability and validity compared to other methods, interpreting the output of Q studies, etc. Calculations were first accomplished manually before introducing technical procedures via the PQMethod program. The 55 pp. syllabus is available from the workshop director (sbrown@kent.edu).
The workshop included lectures by two guests. Professor Randall Moate (counseling, University of Texas—Tyler) presented a study of counselors’ views concerning the impact of graduate coursework on their professional development, and Yvette Tolbert (counseling PhD candidate, Kent State University) discussed her doctoral research on the role of creativity in the practice of counseling. Coincidentally, shortly after his presentation, Randall Moate received word of the acceptance of his study (with minor revisions) in Counselor Education and Supervision, the premier journal in the field.
Workshop Participants: Aubrey Stephenson, Virginia Tech University; Tessa Englund, Virginia Tech; Barea Sinno, Rutgers University; Vivica Kraak, Virginia Tech; Mi Zhou, Virginia Tech; Steven Brown, Kent State University, workshop instructor; Taylor Brownell, Virginia Tech; Kelli Ryan, Kent State; Desirée Hensel, Indiana University; Megan Hinzman, University of Saskatchewan. Not pictured: Ahlam Alghamdi, Kent State.
