qmethod (version 1.2.2)

qmethod-package: Package for Q methodology analysis

Description

Q is a methodology to study the distinct perspectives existing within a group on a topic of interest. It is used across social, health, and environmental studies. See the references below for more details about the methodology.

Overview of the qmethod package. This package performs the analysis of Q methodology data using principal components analysis, varimax rotation (replaceable by other rotations allowed in principal), and automatic flagging.

The following steps of the analysis correspond to separate functions: factor loadings for Q-sorts, automatic flagging of Q-sorts (manual flagging is optional), z-scores and rounded scores for statements, distinguishing and consensus statements, and general characteristics of the factors. The function qmethod wraps them all.

The functions for each step may be used separately for advanced analysis, for example, for manual flagging (see details in qzscores).

The package includes a function to import data from PQMethod software, to export plain text data for interpretation in two flavours, and to print and plot Q method results. Use help(package="qmethod") for a list of all the functions.

References

Brown, S. R., 1980 Political subjectivity: Applications of Q methodology in political science, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Available from: http://qmethod.org/papers/Brown-1980-PoliticalSubjectivity.pdf.

Van Exel, J., and G. de Graaf, 2005. Q Methodology: A Sneak Preview Available from: http://qmethod.org/articles/vanExel.pdf.

Watts, S., and and P. Stenner, 2012. Doing Q Methodological Research: Theory, Method & Interpretation, London: Sage Publications Ltd.

http://qmethod.org/ The official Q Website of the International Society for the Scientific Study of Subjectivity.

http://schmolck.org/qmethod Peter Schmolck's Q Method Page.

Examples

data(lipset)
results <- qmethod(lipset[[1]], nfactors=3, rotation="varimax")
summary(results)
results