The Brenner Award is designed to recognize early career researchers in Q methodology on the basis of a completed paper presented at the I4S Conference

The Brenner Award is named for Donald J. Brenner, the first president of International Society for the Scientific Study of Subjectivity, and a student of William Stephenson. Don had a distinguished career at the University of Missouri, Columbia as Professor of Journalism.

The award recognizes the Q-methodology scholarship of an early career researcher, judged on the basis of a complete I4S conference paper.

To be eligible for the award, applicants must:

  1. Be a graduate student who is first or sole author of the submitted paper
    or
    be an early career researcher who is first or sole author of the submitted paper. To qualify under this category, the author will have held a doctorate for no more than five years or will have been active as a researcher for no more than five years.

  2. Not be a previous Brenner awardee.

  3. Be an I4S member.

To apply for the award, the applicant must:

  1. Have received confirmation that their abstract has been accepted for presentation at the annual conference.
  2. Submit a fully blinded, complete conference paper to the I4S Advisors by email. The paper, and a separate cover sheet with complete author details, should be saved in pdf format. Email to: diane.montgomery@okstate.edu and amanda.wolf@vuw.ac.nz, on or before 9 August of the year of the conference.
  3. Submit a short cv and a statement pertaining to eligibility. In the case of co-authored papers, the contributions of all authors, including the award applicant should be specified in detail.
  4. If the applicant is a graduate student, the application should also include a short statement of recommendation from the supervisor (who may also be a co-author). This statement should address matters such as the applicant’s independence as a researcher and understanding of Q methodology generally.

The criteria and process for the award:

  1. Applications are considered by panel commissioned for the purpose by the I4S Advisors, and chaired by the Advisors.
  2. Papers will be assessed according to these criteria for excellence:
    • Presented to a high academic standard
    • Demonstrates understanding of Q methodology
    • Contributes, through the interpretation of a study (or equivalent scholarship), to the philosophy, foundations or methodology originated by Stephenson
    • Indicates the value of the study in a relevant discipline or field
  3. The award will be announced at the annual conference.
  4. The award will be recognized by the reimbursement of conference registration fees for award year (or deferred to following year).