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Q Sort Technique

The Q Sort Technique is a method originally developed in the 1930s to study subjectivity like views and opinions. It involves having a group or individual sort statements about a topic from most to least important. The research process involves defining a set of statements on the topic, developing a smaller Q set sample from the statements, selecting participants, having them sort the statements, and analyzing the results. The technique aims to reveal similarities and differences in perspectives between participants. It is most effective with 40-60 participants and allows groups to reach consensus by sorting issues through multiple rounds of prioritization.

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69 views

Q Sort Technique

The Q Sort Technique is a method originally developed in the 1930s to study subjectivity like views and opinions. It involves having a group or individual sort statements about a topic from most to least important. The research process involves defining a set of statements on the topic, developing a smaller Q set sample from the statements, selecting participants, having them sort the statements, and analyzing the results. The technique aims to reveal similarities and differences in perspectives between participants. It is most effective with 40-60 participants and allows groups to reach consensus by sorting issues through multiple rounds of prioritization.

Uploaded by

vr4335349
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Q Sort Technique

Mubashir Gull
Q Sort Technique
• Originally developed by William
Stephenson in the 1930s.
Q Sort Technique
• Q methodology is a set of connected techniques designed to enable the
study of subjectivity.
• (views, opinions, beliefs, values, tastes…)

• Q-Sort technique (QST) is defined as “a modified rank-ordering


procedure in which stimuli are placed in an order that is significant
from the standpoint of a person operating under specified conditions”

• Q- Sort is a technique that is employed in community practice to assist


groups (small or large) to sort through options and develop priorities.
Process
• The group identifies multiple issues through brainstorming. The
group then weights or sorts each item developing upon its
importance. The leader records the issues in two columns: most
important and least important.
• The group takes the items in the “most” column and sorts again into
the most important and least important categories. Typically, a
group needs to do the sorting exercise a minimum of three times to
achieve the desired outcome.
• Unlike the nominal group technique, which assures equal participation
of everyone, the Q-Sort is more responsive to verbal participants.
QST-the research process is composed of
five steps
QST
(1) Definition of the statement concours
(2) Development of the Q-set
(3) Selection of the P-set
(4) Q-sorting
(5) Analysis and interpretation
1. Definition of the statement concours
• Studies using QST start with the definition of a collection of
statements, called the “concourse”.
• The goal of defining the statement concourse is to obtain the sum of
all things that can be said or written about a particular topic under
investigation.
• These statements can be collected through primary sources (e.g.,
personal interviews and focus group discussions) and/or secondary
sources (e.g., academic papers, books, and newspapers).
2. Development of the Q-Set (Q Sample)
• The Q-set (or Q-sample) that study participants are asked to sort in a
smaller set of the statements systematically sampled from the
concourse.
• In order to ensure content validity, statements in Q-set may be further
reviewed by domain experts and tested in pilot studies.
• In addition, because the more statements in the Q-set, the more
difficult it would be for the participants to sort, the number of
statements is an important consideration, and a Q-set typically consists
of 30–60 statements (Brown 2008)
3. Selection of the P-Set (Selection of Participants)
• In Q studies, the selection of participants (P-set) can be done
purposefully (or strategically) and based on some theoretical
considerations, rather than randomly,
• In contrast to other quantitative methods requiring an adequate sample
size of participants to achieve sufficient statistical power, Q studies do
not need a large sample.
• Generally, as a “rule of thumb,” QST is most effective with 40–60
participants (Stainton Rogers 1995)
4. Q-Sorting
• Q-sorting is the process in which each participant judges a statement
relative to other statements in the Q-set and places the statements into
a predetermined distribution pattern.
• This could be very similar to the Likert Scale ranging from strongly
negative feelings to strongly positive feelings or vice versa.
• Statements are typically printed on separate cards, and according to
the study instruction, the participants are asked to rank the statements
by placing the corresponding cards on a pyramid-shaped grid called
the “Q-sort table”.
Q-sort table
5. Analysis and Interpretation
• The rank-ordered sorts are transformed into an array of numerical
data, which is then inverted such that the participants become the
variables (columns) and the statements become the cases (rows) in the
data matrix.
• Correlation analysis can be conducted to reveal the degree of
similarity and dissimilarity in the perspectives across the participants.
List of Problems
Process
Advantages
▪ Process almost assures satisfactory outcome.
▪ Can be used with any size group.
▪ Audience participation is usually high since all ideas are at least initially
valued.
▪ Simple process to facilitate consensus.
Disadvantages
▪ Process can be dominated by a few persons
▪ Requires excellent facilitation skills
▪ Best if two facilitators used.
Thank You

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