TY - JOUR T1 - What is Q methodology? JF - Evidence Based Nursing JO - Evid Based Nurs DO - 10.1136/ebnurs-2022-103568 SP - ebnurs-2022-103568 AU - Julie Duncan Millar AU - Helen Mason AU - Lisa Kidd Y1 - 2022/05/23 UR - http://ebn.bmj.com/content/early/2022/05/23/ebnurs-2022-103568.abstract N2 - Mixed methods research is becoming increasingly popular given the benefit of combining quantitative and qualitative data to explore phenomena.1 Q methodology combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to study subjectivity. Despite its recent popularity, Q methodology was originally developed in the 1930s by William Stephenson, a physicist and psychologist. Stephenson worked with psychologist and statistician Charles Spearman (of Spearman correlation coefficient and factor analysis fame); Stephenson saw the need to explore the subjective opinion, combining it with the rigour of statistical factor analysis, thus Q methodology was born. Q methodology is being increasingly used to explore views on a range of topics in healthcare from mental healthcare to dentistry.2 This paper sets out the key characteristics of Q methodology to help nurse researchers better understand the method and terminology, plus we provide practical advice about how to apply Q in nursing and health services research.Study designQ methodology is used to study subjectivity, that is, to say subjective opinions, values or beliefs to answer questions about ‘what’ or ‘how’.3 4 Q methodology allows us to identify and describe the shared viewpoints that exist on a topic revealing areas of consensus and disagreement across these views. There are two key elements to any Q study. First, participants rank order a set of statements of opinion onto a grid. This is followed by a factor analysis to identify clusters of shared viewpoints that can then be interpreted.Q set developmentThe starting point in a Q study is a set of statements that are usually written as expressions of opinions or beliefs on the topic. The statements can be generated through various sources … ER -