The first ever Q Methodology conference to be held in Ontario kicked off today, bringing together academics from disciplines such as health sciences, engineering, physics, political and social sciences, journalism and business.

Running from October 2 to 4, the 24th Annual Q Methodology Conference is presented by the International Society for the Study of Subjectivity (ISSSS) in collaboration with McMaster University and the Nursing Health Services Research Unit.

More than 60 registrants from across the globe will present their findings on people's perceptions of topics ranging from the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign to women in televised sports.

“Q methodology is used when we would like to know people's perceptions, viewpoints and feelings about some issues of interest,” explained conference chair Noori Akhtar-Danesh, assistant professor in the School of Nursing and vice-president of the ISSS. “Using this method, subjective viewpoints are analyzed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques.”

The goal of Q methodology is to uncover different patterns of thought (not their numerical distribution among the population). Q Methodology research emphasizes the qualitative how and why people think the way they do; the methodology does not count how many people think a certain way.