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Political Subjectivity: Applications of Q Methodology in Political Science
... This step is for developing a list of statements that are representative of the broad viewpoints concerning a topic, which is called the Q-population [15]. Q-population development relies on a literature review and interviews, but in fact, more statements can be obtained through interviews than through a literature review [16]. ...
... The group of participants who classify Q-samples in a Q-study is called a P-sample [17]. Brown [15] recommends that 40 to 60 participants are suitable for most studies; however, some specific studies may require a much smaller number of participants. For selecting the P-sample, convenience sampling was conducted, and the same criteria for choosing the participants in the in-depth interviews were applied. ...
Purpose: This is an analysis of the experiences of nurses in Post Anesthesia Care Units (PACUs) in caring for older patients with emergence delirium using the Q-methodology. Methods: The Q-methodology, which is used to explore and understand human subjectivity, was applied. Thirty nurses who had experiences in providing nursing for delirium in older patients after surgery in a PACU participated in this study. Results: This study revealed three factors regarding the frame of reference of PACU nurses in detecting and managing older patients' emergence delirium: “detect the deviant changes leading to instability”, “focus on the patient’s degree of cognitive recovery within the framework of recovery time”, and “awareness of possible clues based on the patient’s underlying disease(s)”. Conclusion: These findings are expected to be utilized as a basis for more practical and accessible PACU nurse delirium education that reflects nurses’ subjective viewpoints explained by the three identified factors.
Gamification relates to the application of game elements in a non-game context. Recently, the concept receives increasing acknowledgement as a tool for achieving motivational or behavioural goals. The effects of gamification in education, on an individual level, have been the topic of academic research for some time. However, until now, only few academic studies have addressed the implementation of gamification in teams in organizational contexts. Using Q methodology, this study combines quantitative and qualitative data to explore how team members experience gamification in work teams. The results show two main perspectives on gamification in organizational work teams. The first perspective, described as the eager team gamer, is predominantly positive. It reveals an experience of increased enjoyment, collaboration, creativity, and productiveness among team members. The second perspective, labelled as the critical player, is much more demanding. It acknowledges the potential positive influences of gamification in certain contexts, but feels strongly about possible inappropriateness in serious tasks or environments, and is adverse towards competitive elements. The results of this Q study add to our understanding of how and why team members in organizations may variously perceive gamification of team tasks.KeywordsGamificationTeamsQ methodology
Authorities' online surveillance powers touch the very core of democracy, human rights and privacy. Thus, the legislation and its implementation must be both sustainable and legitimate in the eyes of the citizenry. We argue that the general elements of legitimate and sustainable online surveillance system can be derived from many international sources, but the crux of the matter is to adjust the general principles into country-specific conditions through well-informed, reasoned and inclusive national legislation preparation and regular follow-up discussions. We explored how 25 key stakeholders from various fields consider 45 statements on online surveillance at the time of preparation of the intelligence legislation in Finland in 2018. Q-factor analysis arranged the stakeholders in three factors indicating distinctive frames that we named Balancing privacy and security, Protecting human rights and Expanding surveillance powers. With regard to enhancing further public discussion towards the interests of stakeholders, we also detected ambiguous issues, deal-breakers and areas of consensus that can be used for finding common ground in future considerations. Our study contributes particularly to research on online surveillance policy. We also demonstrate, along with some earlier findings, that Q-methodological research can provide powerful means to feed public policy discussion in the spirit of deliberative democracy.
The concept of subjectivity has long been controversially discussed in academic contexts without ever reaching consensus. As the main approach for a science of subjectivity, we applied Q methodology to investigate subjective perspectives about ‘subjectivity’. The purpose of this work was therefore to contribute with clarity about what is meant with this central concept and in what way the understanding might differ among Q researchers and beyond. Forty-six participants from different disciplinary backgrounds and geographical locations sorted 39 statements related to subjectivity. Factor analysis yielded five different perspectives. Employing a team approach, the factors were carefully and holistically interpreted in an iterative manner. Preliminary factor interpretations were then discussed with prominent experts in the field of Q methodology. These interviewees were selected due to their clear representation by a specific factor and led to a further enrichment of the narratives presented. Despite some underlying consensus concerning subjectivity’s dynamic and complex structure and being used as individuals’ internal point of view, perspectives differ with regard to the measurability of subjectivity and the role context plays for their construction. In light of the wide range of characterisations, we suggest the presented perspectives to be used as a springboard for future Q studies and urge researchers, within and beyond the Q community, to be more specific regarding their application of the concept. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of attempting to deeply understand research participants in order to truly contribute to a science of subjectivity.
Fair allocation of diminishing natural resources is increasingly central to sustainability. This includes the allocation of costs related to providing access, such as dams, pipes and pumps delivering clean water. Water tariffs are often designed to both recover these costs, meet social needs of water services to the poor, and incentivise conservation in dry times. However, strained public finances, prolonged droughts and economic inequality can undermine these goals and force prioritisations that many see as unfair. This happened in Cape Town, South Africa, during its 2015–2018 water crisis. This study investigates what residents in three different socioeconomic contexts view as fair water tariffs 1 year after the crisis. Using Q method, we describe five distinct perspectives on fairness: ‘the Insurer’, ‘the Individualist’, ’the Bureaucrat’, ‘the Humanitarian’, and ‘the Prepper’. These, we argue, can help distinguish between different ideas of what fairness implies, and what is required to promote it. We exemplify this by examining how viewpoints might have been shaped by specific communities’ experiences during and after the apartheid state’s discriminatory segregation policies. Using distributive, procedural and interactional interpretations of fairness, we discuss how the complex layers of poverty, inequality, mistrust, privilege and discrimination might produce different experiences and ideas of who should pay for and benefit from water services. Using these insights, we also reflect on the merits of tariffs that emphasise cost recovery and resource conservation over social needs, and the risks this poses for growing informal settlements in climate-stressed cities of the global South.
Graphical abstract
Using Q method, we identified five distinct perspectives with different views on what constitutes a fair water tariff.
Background:
Participation in physical activity among adolescents with autism is often conditional. However, there is a lack of methods for identifying these specific conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and investigate the feasibility of a Q-sort tool to map individual-specific conditions for participation in physical activity among adolescents with autism and to identify different viewpoints regarding conditions for such participation.
Method:
An exploratory mixed-methods design was employed to investigate the feasibility of using Q methodology and the Q-sort procedure to identify what individual-specific conditions are important for participation in physical activity for adolescents with autism.
Results:
The adolescents ranked the statements with varying levels of ease. Two viewpoints were identified: Autonomous participation without surprises and Enjoyment of activity in a safe social context.
Conclusion:
Q-sort is a feasible method for mapping conditions for participation, which can guide the development of tailored physical activity interventions.
Traditionally bilingual Maltese school populations are increasingly linguistically diverse, due to intensified migration flows. To shed light on central issues to be addressed by policy makers, school administrators, researchers and teacher trainers, collective beliefs of Maltese primary school teachers regarding their conceptual understanding and pedagogical actions concerning multilingualism are investigated. Through the application of Q methodology and focus group interviews, data from twenty-one in-service teachers from six different colleges were collected. Using inverted factor analysis, three factors were extracted for each of the components (understanding and pedagogy). Detailed narratives for each group of collective teachers’ beliefs were described and supplemented with teachers’ validating comments. Findings indicate that having a positive understanding of multilingualism does not necessarily imply positive pedagogical beliefs and vice versa. In Malta’s inherently bilingual education system, teachers tend to accept and welcome children’s languages in their classrooms and encourage the learning of additional languages. However, possibly due to a lack of adequate training on the subject, there is scepticism regarding whether and how to effectively draw on multilingualism in the classroom. Additionally, the need arises for more teacher autonomy and agency to make decisions regarding classroom language practices, and for a more comprehensive Maltese national language education policy.
How can we make sense of religion and spirituality in a cross-cultural perspective? Is it at all possible to compare what we are used to calling ‘religion’ across different cultures? In this chapter we use findings from Faith Q-studies (FQS) in 12 different countries to investigate variance of religion and spirituality from an international perspective. Our results shed light on themes and variations and show the capacity of the FQS to systematically recognize recurring themes while also remaining sensitive to unique but significant nuances across samples. We further propose that the term family resemblance catches well how to comprehend the complexity of variation and provides a conceptual contribution to the debate on universalism vs. particularism.
In this chapter, we explore uncommon worldviews, meaning that we take a closer look at outlier respondents in a larger international sample from 12 countries. These outliers are the ones whose personal outlooks did not match any of the major worldview types found in the national case studies. First, we identify shared patterns amongst these respondents. Second, we place these outlier outlook types on a broader worldview map. Juxtaposing the outlier outlooks with the results from other case studies allows us to identify idiosyncratic worldviews. Certain outlooks would not stand out in analyses of single case studies, but bringing them together in a cross-cultural comparison enables us to see patterns shared by individuals across different national contexts. This also reveals better such worldviews that incorporate those elements, which normally are distributed amongst opposing viewpoints. The emergence of these outlook types can support the development of a nuanced theory of religious subjectivities.
The aim to discern variation in religion and spirituality has been central to the Study of Religions, and in particular, it has fueled the discussion on typologies. In this chapter, we analyze five distinct worldview profiles (prototypes) that we extracted from our study in 12 countries with the Faith Q-Sort (FQS). The FQS enables us to investigate in detail how certain ideas, practices, attitudes etc. vary in relevance between prototypes, and reveals patterns of importance for the discussion on typology. It provides a meaningful methodological tool for assessing and comprehending worldviews and how these are configured. Our findings show that our five prototypes, on the one hand, are distinguished by certain characteristics and that they, on the other hand, also are multidimensional and emerge as variations of how several elements are combined and emphasized.
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