Methods: Mixed Ata and Q Methodology

28/08/2023

Over the past few years, we have been increasingly using Q methodology.

It’s a mixed methodology: combining the strengths of qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Q methodology was developed by William Stephenson in the 1930s. He designed it to bring a scientific framework to bear on the subtlety and intangibility of subjectivity and subjective views.

We like it because it allows participants to represent their perspectives for the purposes of holding them constant for review and comparison.

That means that people are centred: as opposed to the question or the researcher, which is practically what happens in most r-method-based research.

In addition to being more people-centred, the methodology does not test participants or impose a priori meanings. Instead, participants get to decide what is meaningful and significant from their perspective.

We also like the rigour the data offers. Through factorial and correlation analysis, we can reveal and rank how groups see an issue and the stories they tell about the subject.

Few other methods capture the essence of what the participants feel about a topic from collective voices while at the same time identifying subtle differences between some of the voices.

We will say some more about the methodology in the coming weeks.

Disclaimer

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