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From RECL 3P25 Fall 2011 - Group 05 - Q-Sort
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| When should your technique be used? Q-Sort should be used when doing qualitative research of people’s opinions, attitudes or beliefs. It starts with one questions the researcher is trying to answer, and allows participants to rank their opinion of statements. With a collection of sample answers the researcher is able to then understand similar opinions of participants. (Dr. Garret Huttson) | When should your technique be used? Q-Sort should be used when doing qualitative research of people’s opinions, attitudes or beliefs. It starts with one questions the researcher is trying to answer, and allows participants to rank their opinion of statements. With a collection of sample answers the researcher is able to then understand similar opinions of participants. (Dr. Garret Huttson) | ||
| - | Who should use it? A researcher should use this with a specific sample group (i.e not random). These participants should have a variety of opinions regarding the topic. This is to ensure that there will be different outcomes for the ranking of statements to allow a wide range of responses. | + | Who should use it? A researcher should use this with a specific sample group (i.e not random). These participants should have a variety of opinions regarding the topic. This is to ensure that there will be different outcomes for the ranking of statements to allow a wide range of responses. <ref>Huttson, G.,2011, October 13th, Q-Sort Interview. Application component</ref> |
| Who should it be used with? | Who should it be used with? | ||
| - | Q-Sort can be used with anyone who may have a strong opinion about a topic. Usually a sample will include no more than 40 participants and this is to avoid results being too different and not being able to identify a relation in answers. | + | Q-Sort can be used with anyone who may have a strong opinion about a topic. Usually a sample will include no more than 40 participants and this is to avoid results being too different and not being able to identify a relation in answers.<ref>Huttson, G.,2011, October 13th, Q-Sort Interview. Application component</ref> |
| - | When has the technique been used? Q-Sort was originally created for research done in psychology. Since it was first created it has also been used in the three following ways: 1. In outdoor recreation research to study “how forest management techniques influenced preferences and changes in recreational use over a 20 year period. 2. In Canadian university outdoor education programs, which studied the differences in education in two different countries. 3. In 2008 it was used to study the safety in mountaineering | + | |
| + | When has the technique been used? | ||
| + | Q-Sort was originally created for research done in psychology. Since it was first created it has also been used in the three following ways: | ||
| + | |||
| + | 1. In outdoor recreation research to study “how forest management techniques influenced preferences and changes in recreational use over a 20 year period. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 2. In Canadian university outdoor education programs, which studied the differences in education in two different countries. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 3. In 2008 it was used to study the safety in mountaineering | ||
| ==Procedure of Q-Sort== | ==Procedure of Q-Sort== | ||
Revision as of 22:20, 21 November 2011
Q-sort As a Community Development Technique
Contents |
Definition
Q-sort, also known as Quick Sort is defined as "A divide and conquer algorithm which relies on partition operations: to partition an array, we choose an element, called a pivot, move all smaller elements before the pivot, and move all greater elements after it. This can be done effectively in linear time and in place. We then recursively sort the lesser and greater sub-lists. Efficient implementations of quicksort (with in-place partitioning) are typically unstable sorts and somewhat complex, but are among the fastest sorting algorithms in practice. Together with its modest O(nlogn) space usage, this makes quicksort one of the most sorting algorithms, available in many standard libraries. The most complex issue in quicksort is choosing a good pivot element; consistently poor choices of pivots can result in drastically slower (O(n2)) performance, but if at each step we choose the median as the pivot then it works in O(nlogn)". [1]
An algorithum as referred to in the above definition is "A set of rules for solving a problem in a finite number of steps, as for finding the greatest common divisor." [2]
A Pivot as again refered to in the above definition od Q-Sort is "the middle/medium point or fulcrum". [3]
Q-Sort in a Community is used to assist small or large groups to identify and prioritize common consensus, option and priorities. [4]
As a group, we decided on a definition of Q-sort that does not involve as much mathematics, which is an effective way to rank and organize items quickly into the importance of the item from least important to most important.
Background Information and History of Q-Sort
Q-sort was designed as part of Q-methodology which is "A way to study points of view on a specific topic by using factor analysis to reveal different perspectives in the form of factors" [5] Q-sort and Q-Methodology was invented in 1935 by William Stevenson whom had a PhD in both Psychology and Physics, and he invented the technique becuase he believed that peoples thoughts could be scientifically explored using a mathematical equation, which was O(nlogn). [6] Traditionally the technique is used for allowing brainstorming to occur, and then sort them into the order of importance. [7] It is used to visually represent the importance of statements, and then have them displayed for the participating members of the study or community see in a more verbal way.[8] Q-Sort is also used as it is a fast and effective way to reach desired outcomes. [9]
The problem that it helps address in Community Recreation is virtually anything a recreation practitioner wants to explore. It best addresses a problem by collecting as many differences as possible, and allowing patterns and attitudes to be explored and then based on the data an educated decision can be made, and all members in the community have a chance to participate in the exploration, and discussions to have their opinions heard.
Application of Q-Sort
When should your technique be used? Q-Sort should be used when doing qualitative research of people’s opinions, attitudes or beliefs. It starts with one questions the researcher is trying to answer, and allows participants to rank their opinion of statements. With a collection of sample answers the researcher is able to then understand similar opinions of participants. (Dr. Garret Huttson) Who should use it? A researcher should use this with a specific sample group (i.e not random). These participants should have a variety of opinions regarding the topic. This is to ensure that there will be different outcomes for the ranking of statements to allow a wide range of responses. [10]
Who should it be used with? Q-Sort can be used with anyone who may have a strong opinion about a topic. Usually a sample will include no more than 40 participants and this is to avoid results being too different and not being able to identify a relation in answers.[11]
When has the technique been used? Q-Sort was originally created for research done in psychology. Since it was first created it has also been used in the three following ways:
1. In outdoor recreation research to study “how forest management techniques influenced preferences and changes in recreational use over a 20 year period.
2. In Canadian university outdoor education programs, which studied the differences in education in two different countries.
3. In 2008 it was used to study the safety in mountaineering
Procedure of Q-Sort
Step by Step Procedure
Step 1: Group identifies multiple issues through brainstorming
Step 2: The group weighs or sorts each item depending on its importance
Step 3: Leader records issues in two columns most important and least important.
Step 4: The group takes items in most important column and sorts again into most and least important (repeat 2 or 3 times until desired outcomes)
The step by step procedure consists of four steps. The first step is to identify multiple issues through brainstorming. This step is very important to make sure the statements are relevant to the participants. The second step was for the group to weigh or sort each of the items depending on its importance. The participant will do this individually and record their opinions. The third step is for the leader to record the issues in two columns, most important and least important which in some cases may have a neutral column however, is not always necessary. The final step, step four was to take the items from the most important column and sort it again into most and least important which you can repeat 2 or three times until the desired outcome is met. This step is completely dependent on the outcome the researcher is looking for.
Strengths of Q-Sort
Limitations of Q-Sort
Implementation Tips of Q-Sort
References
Hutson, G., Montgomery, D., & Caneday, L. (2010). Perceptions of Outdoor Recreation Professionals Toward Place Meanings In Natural Environments: A Q Method Inquiry. Journal of Leisure Research, 42(3), pp. 417-442. Retrieved from: EBSCOhost.
Pippard, J. L. & Bjorklund, R. W. (2003). Identifying Essential Techniques for Social Work Community Practice. Journal of Community Practice, 11(4), pp. 101-116. doi: 10.1300/J125v11n04_06
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/algorithm
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pivot
External Links
Authors
Jodi Alexander, Anthony Budhwani, Nicole Caringi, Erin Leslie, Tshing Kasamba, and Lacey Smith
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