ABSTRACT
Q methodology [Q] is an 80-year-old research methodology developed by William Stephenson to scientifically study human subjectivity. Stephenson held a doctoral degree in psychology and a doctoral degree in physics; he often relied on concepts from the former of the two disciplines to explain Q’s underlying framework and processes. This chapter borrows from some of Stephenson’s seminal writings to situate the methodology within my conceptualization of mixed methods integration. It is apparent from Stephenson’s writings that a key to conceptualizing Q as an example of an integrated analytic methodology is to understand that its use of factor analysis is quite different from that used in R factor analysis. In Q, factors represent people, grouped based on participants’ Q-sorts. That is, a Q factor is a is a grouping of people based on how they responded to a Q-sample of items. Thus, each factor represents a different viewpoint about a given topic, and the interpretations of the factors require consideration of qualitative and quantitative information. When conducting Q factor analysis, it is almost always the case that complementarity is needed. Complementarity in physics represents the idea that two contrasted theories are sometimes necessary to explain phenomena (e.g., the wave-particle duality of light). Complementarity in mixed methods refers to the enriched, elaborated understanding of phenomena obtained by using qualitative and quantitative methods. In the context of Q, qualitative-quantitative interaction is almost always needed to understand phenomena. Q represents integrated analyses, leading to a conclusion that integration has been utilized for decades.
