‘Quantifying’ qualitative data: an illustrative example of the use of Q methodology in psychosocial research

Abstract

This article focuses on an application of Q methodology (QM) to an applied area of psychological research. It constitutes a complementary sequel to a recent paper in these pages by Watts and Stenner (2005), and outlines how QM can be used to identify patterns and themes in interview transcripts, fieldnotes or naturalistic observation, as a complementary alternative to other qualitative analytic methods. QM was devised by William Stephenson in the 1930s, after he developed considerable misgivings over what he saw as the almost exclusively positivist leanings of psychological research methodology at the time (a trend which, arguably, has only been challenged relatively recently). QM is now increasingly seen by some research psychologists as providing an innovative approach to qualitative analysis, by strengthening conceptual categorization through the quantification of patterned subjectivities, using Q-sorts. Although QM deploys factor analysis, the mathematics of which is complex, it is a ‘user-friendly’ method and requires no knowledge of mathematics to interpret the data obtained. Key theoretical constructs of QM are first outlined and then illustrated with an example from a relatively undiscovered area of attachment theory: later-life filial relationships between adult children and their aging parents. Six factors emerged in line with contemporary attachment-based research predictions about attachment security and insecurity.