A METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF Q-SORT ARRAYS.

THE THEORETICAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF Q SORTS ARE EXAMINED, TRADITIONAL METHODS OF ANALYSIS ARE CRITICIZED, AND A NEW TECHNIQUE IS PRESENTED WHICH IS APPLICABLE BOTH TO THE ANALYSIS OF SINGLE ARRAYS AND THE NORMATIVE STUDY OF RELEVANT POPULATIONS. THE PROPOSED TECHNIQUE IS THEN APPLIED TO EMPIRICALLY DERIVED DATA OBTAINED FROM A STRUCTURED SET OF Q ITEMS FOCUSED ON THE MEANING OF WORK. THE RELATIONS BETWEEN NORMATIVE AND IPSATIVE METHODOLOGY ARE CLARIFIED, AND SOURCES OF E SUBJECTIVITY ARE DEFINED AND REDUCED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)