Using Stata for Q-methodology studies

Q‐methodology is an innovative research method where qualitative data are analyzed using quantitative techniques. It has the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative methods and is regarded as a bridge between these two approaches. It is used for the assessment of subjectivity, including attitudes, perceptions, feelings and values, preferences, life experiences such as stress and quality of life, and intraindividual concerns such as self-esteem, body image, and satisfaction. Q-methodology can be used in any type of research where the outcome variable involves assessment of subjectivity. It is used to identify unique salient viewpoints, as well as shared views on subjective issues, thereby providing unique insights into the richness of human subjectivity. Currently, there are only a handful of programs with limited capability for Q-methodology analysis. In this presentation, I provide a brief review of Q-methodology and three user written commands, qconvert, qfactor, and qpair, in Stata, which offer an attractive set of options for Q-methodology analysis, including different factor extraction and factor rotation techniques. Applications of these commands will be illustrated using two real datasets.