sbrownkentedu Community, Events

Five-Day Workshop on Q Methodology, May 24-28, Kent State University

Q Methodology in Assessment and Research

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce statistical and methodological principles associated with the use of Q method in assessment and research, and to locate Q methodology in the framework of contemporary science. Attention will focus on factor-analytic and epistemological foundations followed by illustrative applications. Required text: Q Methodology (Sage 1988, ISBN 0803927533) by Bruce McKeown and Dan B. Thomas.

MTWRF, May 24 – 28
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
2 graduate credit hours, $612
CHDS 50093, CRN #10359
CHDS 70093, CRN #10019
Parking, $9
Steven R. Brown, professor
Lifespan Development & Educational Sciences

Interested individuals can call 800.672.KSU2 to register for the workshop or visit the workshops link at www.ehhs.kent.edu/pd for a summer registration form.

sbrownkentedu Events

Short Course on Q Methodology, May 11-12, University of Birmingham, UK

Q Methodology – A Systematic Approach for Interpretive Research Design 11-12 May 2010, University of Birmingham, UK

May 11, Room 109, Muirhead Tower / 12 May, Learning Centre Computer Cluster UG31

Course Convenor: Stephen Jeffares <s.r.jeffares@bham.ac.uk>

Module Outline: This module provides research students with a comprehensive introduction to Q methodology. Q methodology is a set of research design principles and techniques that allows for a systematic and scientific understanding of subjectivity. The methodology was originally developed by William Stephenson in the 1950s and used for identifying market segments in advertising and communications. For social science, Q methodology offers a means of systematically identifying the range of distinctive subjective standpoints in a given context. Being systematic and interpretive is Q methodology is well suited to postgraduate research either as a standalone research design or offering an injection of systematicity to interview based research or an interpretive supplement to aid survey instrument design. In what is an interactive and hands-on workshop, participants will develop an understanding of the basic principles of Q research design and process from identifying the volume of debate, developing statements, administering a Q sort, conducting and interpreting results using dedicated software. By the end of the workshop, participants will posses the ability to design, administer and interpret a Q methodology research project.

Contact Stephen Jeffares for further details.

Susan Ramlo, PhD Events

Summer Q workshop offered at the University of Akron (Ohio)

This summer graduate level Introduction to Q Methodology Workshop will be offered at The University of Akron in Akron, OH. This workshop will meet once per week at UA in person and also online over a 5 week summer session. A description of the workshop is available here.

Those not graduate students at The University of Akron are welcome to register for the workshop. Students can register as special non-degree students through the graduate school online. Our College of Education outreach office can help with the questions regarding registration for the workshop: contact Barb Jenkins bmj@uakron.edu.

If you would like additional information about the workshop please contact Sue Ramlo sramlo@uakron.edu.

Susan Ramlo, PhD Events, Presentation

Q Methodology paper presented at the Eastern Educational Research Association Meeting

Ramlo, S. (2010, February). Applications of Q Methodology in Higher Education. Paper presented at the Eastern Educational Research Association, Savannah, GA.

ABSTRACT: William Stephenson specifically developed Q methodology, or Q, as a means of measuring subjectivity (Brown, 1980, 2008; McKeown & Thomas, 1988; Stephenson, 1953). Q has been used to determine perspectives / views in a wide variety of fields from marketing research to political science (Brown, 1980; McKeown & Thomas, 1988) but less frequently in education (Brown, 1980). In higher education, the author has used Q methodology to determine views about a variety of situations, from students� views about a newly developed bioinformatics course (Ramlo, McConnell, Duan, & Moore, 2008) to faculty members� views of reading circles as a professional development experience to improve teaching and learning in their classrooms (Ramlo & McConnell, 2008). The purpose of this paper will be to introduce Q methodology and demonstrate its versatility in addressing research purposes in higher education, especially where the focus is on determining people�s perceptions and / or grouping people based upon their views.

sbrownkentedu Community, Events

Norwegian Q Conference

The first Norwegian Q conference is scheduled for November 19-20 in the Clarion Hotel, Stavanger. Co-sponsored by the University of Stavanger and the Norwegian Research Council, the conference will be keynoted by Diane Montgomery (Oklahoma State University, USA) and Susan Ramlo (@sramlo, Akron University, USA). The conference is designed in part to promote the use of Q methodology among Norway’s social and behavioral scientists. Although most papers are expected to be presented in Norwegian, proposals from other Scandinavian researchers (as well as those from elsewhere) are also encouraged. Plans are underway to publish a book comprised of selected revised papers from the conference. Persons interested in attending should contact Ingunn Storksen: ingunn.storksen@uis.no or Arlene Thorsen: arlene.thorsen@uis.no. Details will be announced on the Q-Method list in early summer. A conference website http://www.uis.no/Q-konferanse is expected to be up and running within the next two weeks.

sbrownkentedu Community, Events

UK Q Conference

John Bradley has offered to host an informal Q get together on Friday 23rd October 2009 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, UK. It will follow a similar format to the first T&Q event in Mansfield held in 2008. It is an opportunity to talk about your work, discuss methodology and link up with others interested in Q. The event will be free – you will only need to pay for your parking in the adjacent public car park and your lunch in the museum cafe across the road. If you would like to attend, and have suggestions for the format of the day, please email them to: QusersUK@googlegroups.com

qmethodorg Community, Events

An inspiring Q-event

On May 13th Dr. Amanda Wolf from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand visited us at the University of Stavanger, Norway and gave a talk on “Subjectivity, the researcher and the researched”. There were 15 people attending and members from all three faculties at our university were present. Unfortunately, Dr. Robin Peace, also from New Zealand, could not come as planned due to a broken foot and a sprained ankle. Hope she gets well soon!

Amanda Wolf did a wonderful job in creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere while leading us into Stephenson�s complicated concepts by using her own words and metaphors and laying the background for discussions. We were also fortunate to have Dr. Eleanor Allgood from NTNU, Norway present and giving important input into the discussions.

After the morning session our core Q-group had a meeting with Amanda and Eleanor and where Ph.D. students were given helpful suggestions to their questions and their studies. We also got an orientation of the journal Operant Subjectivity which will soon be up to date. This is very good news because the present date and publishing date have to be the same for us to get credit for our published articles. This may also be the case for universities in other countries as well.

We are very grateful to Amanda and Eleanor for their contributions. It was a day of reflection and inspiration and the participants were eager to learn more about subjectivity and Q methodology. We are all looking forward to the upcoming Norwegian Q conference 19-20th November, hosted by the University of Stavanger, and where Professor Diane Montgomery and Professor Susan Ramlo will be key-note speakers.

sbrownkentedu Community, Events

International Q Symposium at Oklahoma State University

The International Q Symposium at Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) was by all accounts a resounding success. The Symposium was held Friday, March 27 and was sponsored by the Oklahoma State College of Education and organized by Diane M Montgomery. Opening remarks were given by Associate Dean Steve Edwards. Approximately 80 persons attended the poster session, which featured 41 posters, including 5 from the University of Central Oklahoma and 4 from Professor Will Focht of the Department of Political Science at Oklahoma State. Also on display were 20 doctoral dissertations and about a dozen publications. Approximately 50 were in attendance for the three special addresses:

    Virginia Gravina, agriculture, Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay
    Linda Gentry El-Dash, applied linguistics, State University of Campi, Campinas, Brazil
    Sandra Rodriguez-Pineros, forestry, Oklahoma State University

The Symposium reception was organized by the Educational Psychology Student Society.

qmethodorg Community, Events

OSU Q Symposium

School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology to Host Q Symposium March 27 2009

The School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology (SAHEP) would once again like to invite the Q Listserv community to attend an International Q Methodology Symposium on Friday, March 27, 2009. It is our intent to bring together innovative interdisciplinary researchers and make clear the role of Q Methodology in research. Three international speakers will discuss applying Q Methodology in research settings, and a reception and poster presentation will conclude the day�s events in Willard Hall on the OSU-Stillwater campus.

International Q Symposium: Friday March 27, 2009 Seminar & Keynote Addresses: 12:30 � 2:00 pm Willard 010 Poster Presentations & Reception: 12:00 � 4:00 pm Willard Living room

Seminar Presenters: Three International Visiting Scholars will provide the keynote addresses at the Q Seminar

Virginia Gravina- Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay. With a background in Agricultural Engineering, Professor Gravina uses Q to assess extension and rural development projects.

Linda Gentry El-Dash- State University of Campi, Brazil. Using applied linguistic theory, Dr. El-Dash uses Q to better understand why Portuguese speakers study English.

Sandra Rodriguez-Pineros- Oklahoma State University. Dr. Rodriguez-Pineros employed Q to study forest sustainability in La Preciosita Sangre de Cristo, Puebla, Mexico to further understanding of Forestry Economics.

Call for Posters: The symposium is accepting 50 poster submissions outlining Q studies to be presented at the reception during the symposium. If you have conducted a Q study that demonstrates broad application and utility of Q methodology, this is an opportunity for you to transform your Q study into a poster. If you wish to submit your poster for consideration, please email Hyeyoung Bang (hyeyh@okstate.edu) to receive specifications for poster submission format. The deadline for poster submission is March 18, 2009. Also, if you would like to receive information about travel plans, hotel accommodation, and parking on campus, please be sure to request for “Travel Plans” in your email request to hyeyh@okstate.edu.

Please take note that if you would like for your abstract to be included in the International Q Symposium Program Abstracts, we need to receive the abstract and poster no later than March 18, 2009.

qmethodorg Events

Q Methodology Workshop at the University of Leeds

On Monday 23rd June, the Leeds Institute of Health Sciences hosted a workshop entitled “Q Methodology in Health Research” which was led by Job van Exel from the University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and attended by 24 researchers from around the UK.

The workshop included a presentation of some of the research carried out by Job and colleagues including an ongoing cross-European study of decision making in healthcare which uses a web-based sorting tool. Janet Holt presented work from her PhD thesis on nurses attitudes to assisted dying highlighting the application of Q to studying healthcare ethics in practice. This was followed by a ‘Q surgery’, where three researchers presented an idea for a Q study which was then discussed by a panel and the other participants, and an ‘advanced workshop’ where practical issues of particular interest to the audiences were discussed. The day ended with a presentation by Job on ways to bring together different Q data sets for analysis and validation purposes.

The day was enjoyable, stimulating, and practically very useful too, underlining the importance of bringing users of Q methodology together to further develop and enhance the use of this approach in health research.