Q-Sort in Communication

Q-sort is the data-collection technique at the heart of Q methodology, in which participants rank-order a set of statements or stimuli along a forced distribution (typically from 'most agree' to 'most disagree') to express their subjective point of view. In communication research it is used to uncover the shared patterns of opinion, framing, or media interpretation that exist within an audience, by factor-analyzing how people sort rather than how they score isolated items.