Q Sorting with Non-Reading Participants: Some Effective Adaptations to the Q-Methodological Workflow

As aparticipatory methodcombining qualitative and quantitative aspects, Q methodology has proven effective in academic as well as“practice-based”researchandcan beespecially valuable in workwithIndigenousgroups and peoplewhoare in weak power positions.However,non-readingpopulationshave often beenexcluded becauseprocedures for sorting written statements often disqualified them. In cooperation with a Maasai research assistant and research participantsin NorthernTanzania, Iengaged inan approachthrough whichparticipantswho do not readrank ordered 42 written statements relative to each other, showing remarkable consistencywhen asked control questions. Thus, their perspectives regardingabstractconcepts weremade explicit and comparable to each other and to those who are literate. I discuss the involvedextensionsto the regular Q-sorting process, whichcan help researchers to acquiresystematic insights into the worldviewsofindividuals or groups who are not proficient in reading. The approach in which they are embedded isvaluable more widely whendealingwith cultural and power disparitiesin Q research, underliningthe importance of empathic and trustingresearcher-participant relationshipsin a time when Covid-19 and calls for cognitive justice are impacting research designs.