About the Book
This book is a simple yet thorough introduction to Q methodology, a research technique designed to capture the subjective or first-person viewpoints of its participants. Watts and Stenner outline the key theoretical concepts developed by William Stephenson, the founder of Q methodology, including subjectivity, concourse theory and abduction. They then turn to the practicalities of delivering high quality Q methodological research. Using worked examples throughout, the reader is guided through:
• important design issues
• the conduct of fieldwork
• all the analytic processes of Q methodology, including factor extraction, factor rotation and factor interpretation.
Drawing on helpful conceptual introductions to potentially difficult statistical concepts and a step-by-step guide to running Q methodological analyses using dedicated software, this book enables interested readers to design, manage, analyse, interpret and publish their own Q methodological research.
Table of Contents:
PART ONE: THEORY
Introducing Q Methodology: The Inverted-Factor Technique
Theory and Q Methodology: From Stephenson to Constructionism
PART TWO: METHOD
Basic Design Issues: Research Questions and Q Sets
Doing the Fieldwork: Participants, Materials and Procedure
Understanding the Analytic Process (1): Factor Extraction
Understanding the Analytic Process (2): Factor Rotation and the Preparation of Factor Arrays
PART THREE: INTERPRETATION
Factor Interpretation
Writing and Publishing Q Methodological Papers
Appendices
General Instructions for Completing a Q Methodological Study
Conducting an Analysis Using PQ Method: A Step-by-step Guide (plus an explanation of the PQ Method output or .lis file
First Draft Crib Sheets (for study factors 2, 3, 4 and 5)
About the Author :
Simon Watts is PGR Training Coordinator and Deputy Head of the Graduate School in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK. He is responsible for organizing all the research, professional development, and advanced training programs for PGR students within the faculty and teaches extensively on these programs. He primarily publishes instructional papers in the area of research methodology/skills, is particularly well known for his work with Q methodology, and is lead author of the Sage publication ‘Doing Q methodological research: Theory, method, and interpretation’ (co-authored with Professor Paul Stenner at the Open University). Simon’s various book and journal publications have been cited in excess of 2000 times since 2012. Paul Stenner is Professor of Social Psychology at The Open University, UK. He completed his PhD at the University of Reading, UK, and has held posts at the University of Brighton, University College London, University of Bath, and the University of East London. He works with process approaches to psychosocial issues. He has published work in numerous fields including the emotions, human rights, quality of life, and active ageing. With Simon Watts, he is the author of Doing Q Methodological Research: Theory, Method and Interpretation (SAGE, 2012). He has published 25 peer-reviewed articles using, or about, Q methodology and numerous book chapters, including Q methodology (Stenner, Watts, & Worrell, 2017) and The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology, Second Edition (Willig & Stainton Rogers, Eds., 2017).
Review :
This is the book the Q community has been waiting for! Aspirational Q researchers will find it a comprehensive, balanced and thorough guide, taking them systematically from refining their research question(s) to publishing their first Q methodological study
Wendy Stainton Rogers
Professor Emerita, The Open University
Watts and Stenner′s fresh, comprehensive introduction to Q methodology factor analysis and interpretation is consistently sensitive to the less-experienced researcher′s need for clear explanations and extensive supporting details. All Q researchers will value its range of practical tips and elaboration of important concepts
Amanda Wolf, Editor, Operant Subjectivity: The International Journal of Q Methodology
According to the Q community this is′ the book which they have been waiting for. To date, there lacked a book in which the simple and robust method is introduced. As a teacher and researcher, I am glad Watts and Stenner fill this gap with their book.[...]The content of Doing Q methodological research is divided into three parts, respectively into theory, method and interpretation. The book is peppered with examples and case studies and the authors give advice on very practical matters, such as conducting fieldwork, working with the participants and conducting good data management.
This is a comprehensive, clear, ‘one-stop start’ to the method with some very useful chapter summaries and appendices. [...]Together with the all-important recommended free software package for the data analysis if you were thinking of taking this approach this would be a good place to begin.
This will offer those students interested in this type of research to further their understanding of this approach.
This is an excellent book that is much needed with regards to this particular methodology. I teach Q methodology here at the University of Worcester and this book will now be our core text.
This is an excellent book for anyone considering Q-sort. It includes a step by step guide to the analysis and the use of software to make sense of sorts
An excellent comprehensive text on this research method
Helpful, well organised contents supports post graduate students in their knowledge and understanding of methodologies and different methods used for researching in the classroom.
THis is a fantastic book, absolutely essential to anyone considering doing Q methods based research. there are almost no training courses available in this method, but with this book I felt confidant in undertaking research in this adn will use it as a tool for training my students
This book is a wonderful and refreshing attempt to introduce people to the theory and practicalities of doing Q methodology. The authors cleverly and simply start by providing a background to Q, and explain the history behind factor analysis. The chapter resonate trust in the authors knowledge about Q, thus trusting the reader to understand each of the concepts discussed or to further research any other areas that have not been covered within the book.
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The book signposts readers to other resources and is truly a converting tool for those who were sceptical of using Q as a reliable methodology. There is a link to a free software package that can be used to input Q-sort data and analyse it and another link to the ‘bible’ of Q methodologists – Brown (1980) online PDF article (I’ve downloaded it myself).
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The book takes us into the ins and outs of Q methodology and design, including the various pros and cons of sampling methods, research questions, and items development/selection. The valuable appendices are very handy, including a sample participant instructions sheet and a brief guide to use one of the most common free software Q packages. I just felt a bit underwhelmed with the suggestions to the Q packages available, and maybe even with the lack of mentioning the QCom software (Gwilliam, 1995), which is compatible with SPSS without much fussing around. Overall, this book is compiled in such a simple way that it becomes more like a manual and a guide, for people who want a stepwise approach to conducting a Q study.
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I have used the book myself in a recent study and to train others in conducting Q studies. I truly recommend it to anyone either thinking of running a Q study or just trying to learn more about this method, at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels. It is definitely a great value as a teaching tool, which can help format lectures and workshops on Q method. Fortunately Q methodology is one of these versatile methods that can be used in research, education and clinical areas. Due to their collaborative nature Q sorts can be used with children, adolescents, patients with disabilities, and the general population. Q can use images, text, sounds, tastes, or anything else that researchers can think off. The sky, and creativity, is the limit and this book is the map.
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Finally, the book provides valuable advice on preparing a Q manuscript for publication, and in the skills behind selecting the most suitable journal for a peer reviewed publication with most impact and reading audience.
First book to outline Q methodology comprehensively. Would recommend to anyone wanting to use this methodology.
An easy to read and use treatise on Q methodology.
I recommend this book to all students and professional researchers who aim to adopt Q methodology in their research. I find this book both sufficiently practical and theoretically thorough enoough for any transdisciplinary researcher for whom this methodology is completely new, and for those interested in alternative methodological approaches.
This book is very good for full-time course to teach only this methodology. I was looking for new method for qualitative data analysis. But I recommend to use it on qualitative research methods course.
Q methodology won′t necessarily be employed by many people in their early research efforts, but for those adventurous enough to give it a try, this book is invaluable. It′s very readable, clear and comprehensive. I don′t know of any other book on the topic that falls into this same "one stop reading" category."
I think this book has been prepared with respect to scientific research methodology. Thus I recommend to many of my master and ph d students. Thank you for your interest.
This is the best text I have read on the subject of Q methodology, both at an introductory level and for researchers wanting to shape their craft.
An additional text used to look at some of the various methodologies within health care research
Good resource
This is an excellent text and is recommended for both undergraduate and post graduate students. We are an area for excellence for using Q Methodology and this text is exactly what we needed.
A lovely introduction to Q methodology which is not commonly taught across UG programmes of study. Is helpfully illustrated with examples and case studies.
As someone new to this approach, I found this book comprehensive in its guidance and explanation of Q methodology. It gives useful, practical advice on how to design and conduct a research study using this technique and deals with some fairly difficult concepts in a way that was easy to follow.
very good - will use it more for the masters courses and PhD students
already given feednback
Q methodology is much under-used, probably because it is first misunderstood, and then appears to be fraught with difficulty.
This text presents the task from beginning to end with clarity and in a pleasantly informal manner. The figures are especially uncluttered and helpful. "Tricks of the trade" serve to demystify essential elements."
