Making Sense of Q: A Collaborative Dialogue on Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Chair: Gary Bonar, Monash University (gary.bonar@monash.edu)
This exploratory session invites participants to engage in a reflective and collaborative dialogue about one of the core tensions in Q methodology: how to meaningfully integrate quantitative outputs with qualitative insights in ways that honour both the structure of the data and the richness of participants' subjectivities. Q studies generate both numerical and narrative data, and researchers are often left with the challenge of interpreting factor arrays, selecting illustrative quotes, and constructing narratives that are methodologically rigorous, ethically grounded, and communicatively powerful. This process can be messy, ambiguous, and deeply creative.
Rather than presenting a fixed set of answers, this session will create space to share questions, insights, and strategies around issues such as:
Balancing statistical patterns with participant voices
Deciding what belongs in a factor narrative—and what doesn’t
Navigating conflicting interpretations or unclear findings
Writing in ways that reflect the complexity of lived perspectives
The discussion will draw on a sample Q studies, as well as examples from mixed methods literature that address the integration of different types of data. These sources will serve as touchpoints for thinking about how existing methodological guidance can inform, challenge, or support the interpretive decisions made in Q studies.
This workshop, offers a space for mutual learning and critical reflection on how we move from data to meaning while staying true to the spirit and integrity of our studies.