The University of Illinois at Chicago is offering an online three graduate hour Q-Methodology course starting this Fall semester. The course will allow the professional and/or the busy graduate student to learn Q over an eight week time span. To register for the course, please apply for admission to the graduate college at http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/prospective_students/index.html. The course is BHIS 594 and you must take 3 credit hours. The deadline for Fall is August 1st; however, the course will be offered every semester as long as 5 students are enrolled.
Q methodology at the July 2010 conference of the International Society of Political Psychology
The program chair for the 33rd annual conference of the International Society of Political Psychology (July 7-10, San Francisco) has announced acceptance of the following three conference events involving Q methodology:
Panel: Reintroducing Q Methodology
Abstract: Q methodology was innovated in the 1930s and its main principles and procedures, largely of a technical and statistical nature, were worked out in the context of British psychology. Subsequently, the methodology was embraced by personality, clinical, and counseling psychology in the U.S. in the 1950s and ’60s, but fell into relative disuse. It was introduced into the political and social sciences in the 1970s and was initially incorporated into research in political psychology in the ’80s. Since then, however, its popularity within political psychology has waned while at the same time gaining wider acceptance in other fields, most notably in public policy generally and health and environmental policy more specifically. The purpose of this panel is to reintroduce Q methodology to a new generation of political psychologists through the presentation of four research applications: a single-case analysis of an authoritarian personality, analysis of public reactions to President Barack Obama, evaluation of Q methodology’s utility in enhancing the persuasability of policy campaigns, and its use (in conjunction with other methods) in ameliorating inter-group violence.
Workshop: Fundamentals of Q Methodology (Organizer: Steven R Brown, Kent State University)
Q methodology emerged in the 1930s as a means for the systematic study of subjectivity and it is applicable across the entire range of human activity. Although developed in psychology, it has come to be utilized more in political science and policy, especially in the health and environmental fields, but also in other areas outside political psychology. Its use has been somewhat limited in political psychology due in part to the novel and controversial aspects of its procedures and also because of uncertainty about its technical features and the range of topics to which it can be applied. The purpose of this workshop is to provide a brief history of Q methodology and an introduction to its major principles, and then to involve participants in a brief study during which they will perform Q sorts that will then be correlated and factor analyzed using the PQMethod program. Results will be interpreted followed by a discussion of other applications in which interest is expressed. Time will also be devoted to clarifying misconceptions and to providing opportunities to discuss controversies.
Plenary Address: “The Lost Scent of Subjectivity” (Lasswell Award Address) (by Steven R Brown, Kent State University).
Q Methodology’s 75th Birthday
On June 28, 1935, William Stephenson penned the following letter to the Editor of the British science journal Nature, thus initiating the development that has come to be known as Q methodology. The letter eventually appeared in the 24 August 1935 issue of Nature (p. 297).
Technique of Factor Analysis
Factor analysis is a subject upon which Prof. G. H. Thomson, Dr. Wm. Brown and others have frequently written letters to Nature. This analysis is concerned with a selected population of n individuals each of whom has been measured in m tests. The (m)(m-1)/2 intercorrelations for these m variables are subjected to either a Spearman or other factor analysis.
The technique, however, can also be inverted. We begin with a population of n different tests (or essays, pictures, traits or other measurable material), each of which is measured or scaled by m individuals. The (m)(m-1)/2 intercorrelations are then factorised in the usual way.
This inversion has interesting practical applications. It brings the factor technique from group and field work into the laboratory, and reaches into spheres of work hitherto untouched or not amendable to factorisation. It is especially valuable in experimental aesthetics and in educational psychology, no less than in pure psychology.
It allows a completely new series of studies to be made on the Spearman ‘central intellective factor’ (g), and also allows tests to be made of the Two Factor Theorem under greatly improved experimental conditions. Data on these and other points are to be published in due course in the British Journal of Psychology.
W. Stephenson Psychological Laboratory, University College, Gower Street, London, W.C.1. June 28.
Introductory Course on Q Method at University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (specifically, the School of Health and Rehabilitation at UCT) has agreed to host a 2-day introductory course on Q Method next month, on July 13 and 14. Presenters will be Dr Judy McKenzie and Dr Bob Braswell. For more information, see http://tiny.cc/UCTQinvite (this links to a Google Docs page with details in PDF format). We hope that some of participants of this list will be able to join us for this event.
2010 Summer Workshop on Q Methodology in Assessment and Research
Workshop participants (from the left in the image): Jane Blank, University of Phoenix, healthcare administration; Ingunn Storksen, University of Stavanger (Norway), psychology; Thomas Lennon, Kent State University, counseling; Steven Brown, Kent State University, political science; Lok Subba, University of Stavanger, educational psychology; Heidi Larew, Kent State University, counseling; Kristin Bruns, Kent State University, counseling; Peter Finnerty, Kent State University, counseling; Debra London, Kent State University, counseling; Klara Overland, University of Stavanger, psychology; and Linda Schurch, Walden University, education.
This summer’s workshop met, as usual, under the auspices of the Department of Counseling, Graduate School of Education, Health, and Human Services, Kent State University, and workshop members brought with them a variety of intellectual and research interests: avian influenza and public health, political psychology and policy, suicide prevention, lesbian-gay-bisexual-transsexual issues, clinical supervision, mindfulness practices, virtual technologies in training, daycare centers, virtual leadership, developmental psychology, and children with learning difficulties. The workshop covered the usual topics—history and principles, Q sorting, calculation of correlations, data-entry into the QMethod program, explanation of computer output, manual extraction of factors and graphical rotation, calculation of factor scores, and factor interpretation. Ingunn Storksen and Klara Overland presented an overview of the BAMBI project at the University of Stavanger (involving Q sortings by preschoolers from families of divorce). Travis Schermer (doctoral candidate in counseling, Kent State University) also presented the results of his dissertation research on men in counseling.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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