Higher education during COVID-19 : Q methodology studies online / Susan E. Ramlo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ramlo, Susan E., author.

Series:

SAGE research methods: doing research online.

SAGE research methods: doing research online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Q technique.

Education, Higher--Research.

Education, Higher.

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

London : SAGE Publications, Ltd., 2022.

Summary:

Q methodology (Q) offers a scientific way to study subjectivity, meaning people's viewpoints about a topic. The underlying assumption of Q is that when people share an experience, they do not necessarily form the same viewpoint about that experience. This is different from the use of Likert-scale surveys that report results using aggregate (averages) scores for responses to statements. Instead, Q allows the researcher to differentiate and describe the divergent viewpoints that exist on a topic. During its first half-century, Q was labor intensive: cards with statements to sort had to be created, sort data entered by hand; and analyses done through hand-calculations. The introduction of computers facilitated the analyses stage of Q, but the Q-sort process remained hands-on without the aid of technology until relatively recently, especially considering Q's creation in 1935. Here, I use a specific online Q study, where the purpose was to ascertain the multiple, divergent viewpoints about faculty moving their face-to-face courses online in a form of emergency remote instruction, due to the pandemic, to illustrate how to perform a Q study online. The online data collection and analysis tools make doing Q studies more accessible to undergraduates and post-graduate students. How Q findings can provide important insights related to subjectivity and, therefore, behaviour, is also discussed.

Notes:

Description based on XML content.

ISBN:

9781529603453 :

OCLC:

1301364816