Q methodology combining the best of qualitative and quantitative techniques

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Q methodology-combining the best of qualitative
and quantitative techniques

• John Bradley
• Nottingham University 2009

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Aims of the workshop

• Describe Q methodology
• Locate it within quantitative and qualitative
  approaches
• What sort of research questions it is useful for?
• Illustrate its use from my research
• Look at some Q data

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Limitations of existing methodologies

• Quantitative- surveys with large samples but
  narrow answers
• Qualitative richer interview and focus group
  material but
• concerns about reporting qualitative material

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Archer, L. and M. Hutchinson (2001). "Higher than
Einstein constructions of going to university
among working class non-participants." Research
Papers in Education 16(1) 69-91.

• ..our respondents constructed two very different
  pictures of HE. One was of Oxbridge and campus
  universities, pleasant environments in which
  middle-class students, who had gained entry with
  good A-levels, and who have adequate financial
  support, are able to enjoy either leisure
  (partying, drinking) or study (as boffins), and
  can look forward to achieving prestigious degrees
  and careers. The second construction was of
  rather unattractive buildings in which skint
  working-class students (who had entered through
  vocational qualifications, or through Access or
  special entry) have to work hard under
  considerable pressure, combining study with a job
  and having little time for social life. This
  second picture was the sort of HE that our
  respondents generally talked about as available
  to them, and they saw it as inferior to real
  HE.

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majority discourseminority discourseno evidence

• ..our respondents constructed two very different
  pictures of HE. One was of Oxbridge and campus
  universities, pleasant environments in which
  middle-class students, who had gained entry with
  good A-levels, and who have adequate financial
  support, are able to enjoy either leisure
  (partying, drinking) or study (as boffins), and
  can look forward to achieving prestigious degrees
  and careers. The second construction was of
  rather unattractive buildings in which skint
  working-class students (who had entered through
  vocational qualifications, or through Access or
  special entry) have to work hard under
  considerable pressure, combining study with a job
  and having little time for social life. This
  second picture was the sort of HE that our
  respondents generally talked about as available
  to them, and they saw it as inferior to real
  HE.

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Looking for a methodology

• Give rich, detailed complex accounts
• Rebalance the power of the researcher and
  participant
• Transparent processes of analysis
• Well warranted accounts

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And would be

• Engaging for participants
• Interesting to use
• Have wide range of applications
• novel

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Q the traditional story

• William Stephenson
• Spearman, Burt and factor analysis in search of
  g
• Stephenson came to reject the model

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Using factor analysis to map opinions
(subjectivity)

• Spearman gave people tests and factor analysed
  the test scores (by item FA)
• Stephenson asked people to express their views
  and applied factor analysis to the pattern of
  responses (by person FA)
• .to explore the pattern of opinions around a
  topic
• he looked at people measuring rather than being
  measured correlating persons instead of tests
  (Brown 1995)

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The British Postmodernist interest in Q

• a collective of British critical psychologists
• social constructionist and postmodernist
  approaches have lacked any attempt to find new
  methods
• Numerical data has been treated as suspect
  (intrinsically masculinized, positivist)
• a quest for new methods of scrutiny
• a systematic approach to DA

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Both traditional and critical approaches are

• Interested in the flow of ideas
• Interested in patterns of opinion not in
  quantification
• Interested in preserving minority voices

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Q methodology

• Collect a concourse of statements
• Select representative Q sample
• The Q sort
• Sorted according to a condition of instruction
• Factor analysis (by-person not by-item)
• Interpretation

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Q methodology

• Collect a concourse of statements
• Select representative Q sample
• The Q sort
• Sorted according to a condition of instruction
• Factor analysis (by-person not by-item)
• Interpretation

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Statements

• Even if your not keen on the course its worth
  doing it anyway to have the university
  experience
• University students are poor
• Its hard to go to university if youre the first
  one in your family to do it
• Going away to university breaks you away from
  your real friends

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Mini- activity

• In your area of research interest
• Identify a contentious issue
• Think of some of the statements in the
  concourse around your topic

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Q methodology

• Collect a concourse of statements
• Select representative Q sample
• The Q sort
• Sorted according to a condition of instruction
• Factor analysis (by-person not by-item)
• Interpretation

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The layout for a 60 item Q sort
Most Disagree Most Agree
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Doing a Q sort

• Read the statements and roughly sort in to 3
  piles agree/dont know/disagree
• Then sort them out on to the sorting sheet
• Keep going till you are happy with the result

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Most Disagree Most Agree
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Analysing the data

• Exploratory factor analysis
• Grouping together participants with similar
  viewpoints
• By-person FA
• Contrast with typical use of FA in psychology
  which is by-item
• PQMethod

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Describing each viewpoint (factor )

• PQMethod gives rich detailed data
• Description of each viewpoint (factor)
• Comparisons between viewpoints (factor)
• Distinguishing statements
• Consensus statements
• Take a look at some of my data

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My data came from

• 53 participants
• Year 12 students
• Studying for level 3 qualifications
• From former coalfield communities

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The five viewpoints

• Positive
• Put off
• Perplexed
• Pragmatic
• Other plans

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Beyond the Q study

• Q gives the pattern of views but makes no claim
  to quantify these use Q to design a survey (Q
  Block )
• Use the Q findings as the basis for a content
  analysis (my thesis)
• Feed back the Q findings to promote dialogue and
  solution finding (environmental issues)

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Activity - PMI

• Pluses what seem to be the positives of Q
  methodology?
• Minuses what seem to be the drawbacks of Q
  methodology?
• Interesting what other issues strike you and
  leave you thinking thats interesting
• Chat in twos or threes then well open up

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Further reading

• Handout

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Evaluation of the session

• WWW (What worked well)
• EBI (It would have been even better if)

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Additional material
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Content analysis of a prospectus
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Viewpoint (factor) 2

• Strongly held statements
• You might get to university and find you dont
  fit in
• What to do after school is the first really
  important choice you have to take in life
• Im really not sure what to do next after school
• Choosing a course and a university is stressful
• Distinguishing statements
• I dont even want to think beyond the next year
  or so
• In the long run Id earn more as a graduate
• Boring lectures, writing essays university would
  drive me mad
• Once youve been to university you dont fit in
  so well, back where you came from

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Content analysis

• One of the statements factor 2 feels strongly
  about is
• Choosing a course and a university is
  stressful.

• Coders identified the sentence
• Choosing a university is often difficult and
  confusing, however your decision might be made
  easier by asking yourself certain questions
• as referring to that issue.

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Another example

• At university you dont really get that much
  support from the teachers/ lecturers, so its all
  down to you.
• We provide you with the practical support you
  need to flourish.

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ten Klooster et al (2008)

• Used the same statements, with the same
  participants, using Likert questionnaire and
  Q-sort
• Compared the results

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Comparing the overall scores
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Comparing overall Likert picture with individual
Q factors
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Factor array for factor 1
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12 17 37 28 13 9 4 46 32 25 29 52 1 54 51
43 56 45 16 49 14 33 50 57 36 19 11 26 22 58
27 59 48 38 41 10 23 34 18 30 24 15 53
3 31 44 21 35 60 20 6 55 47
8 42 2 5
39 40
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Generating factor arrays

• Qsort e (.916)
• Qsort f (.873) -6 -5-4-3-2 -1 012345 6
• Factor 1
• Q sort array
• Qsort d (.758)

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(No Transcript)
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Rate these statements from 10 (strongly agree)
to 1 (strongly disagree) (Brown 1980)
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(No Transcript)
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1. Positive

• Overall this is a positive and optimistic
  viewpoint on universities, held by a group of
  pupils who are certain to apply. They anticipate
  social, developmental, academic and economic
  benefits from a university education.

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2. Put off

• For this viewpoint the perceived benefits of
  going to university are negated by a fear of not
  fitting in and of finding the academic side
  unpalatable. They see the process of deciding as
  stressful and are adamant that they will not be
  applying.

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3. Perplexed

• Concerns about money, a general sense of
  uncertainty and puzzlement, a weak sense of any
  career or social benefits, doubts about the
  advice received at school and the support they
  would get at university all combine here to leave
  these young people only weakly committed to
  applying to university

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4. Pragmatic

• This viewpoint sees the question of going to
  university as still undecided they can see good
  practical reasons for going, they have a broadly
  positive view of university, but they have not
  closed down other options and are yet to make up
  their mind.

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5. Other plans

• A viewpoint that is not antagonistic to
  university it holds a generally positive view,
  but is not convinced of its importance to future
  life chances and holds positive views about
  alternatives such as an apprenticeship. These
  young people are saying universities may be fine
  places, but I dont think I need to go and Ive
  got other options.

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Activity

• In small groups
• Choose an issue to explore
• Have a brief discussion
• Use what emerges from the discussion to devise a
  set of statements