Van Exel, N. Job A. & de Graaf, Gjalt (2005). Q methodology: A sneak preview.
Q methodology enjoys increasing popularity and use among scholars and students in the Netherlands. Many people that develop an interest in Q methodology, however, find it difficult to gain access to the relevant background literature and instructions for use. The basic handbook by Steven Brown – Political Subjectivity – has been off the shelf for quite some time and is hard to come by.∗ The key journal presenting methodological issues and applications of Q methodology – Operant Subjectivity – is also hard to find. In recent years many of our students searching for a suitable methodology for their thesis ran into this problem and on occasions it was an obstacle to go on with Q methodology. For that reason we decided to write down the basics and make this document easily accessible.
This document is compiled from what we think is the key literature on Q methodology. References are provided throughout the text and readers are encouraged to look up the original materials.
We gratefully acknowledge Steven Brown for his comments and suggestions to a concept version of this document and his overall guidance on Q matters.
