qmethod (version 1.0)

qflag: Q methodology: automatic flagging of Q-sorts

Description

Applies the two standard algorithms to flag Q-sorts automatically, for posterior calculation of the statement scores.

Usage

qflag(nqsorts, nstat, loa=loa)

Arguments

nqsorts

number of Q-sorts in the study.

nstat

number of statements in the study.

loa

a Q-sort factor loading matrix loa, obtained from principal(...)$loadings.

Details

These are the two standard criteria for automatic flagging used in Q method analysis:

1. Q-sorts which factor loading is higher than the threshold for p-value > 0.95, and

Q-sorts which square loading is higher than the sum of square loadings of the same Q-sort in all other factors.

References

Brown, S. R., 1980 Political subjectivity: Applications of Q methodology in political science, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. See further references on the methodology in qmethod-package.

Examples

data(lipset)
library(psych)
loa <- as.data.frame(unclass(principal(lipset, nfactors=3, rotate="varimax")$loadings))
flagged <- qflag(nqsorts=9, nstat=33, loa=loa)
summary(flagged)