“THE�STUDY �OF US”

COMMUNITY-BASED STUDY OF ZOOMQ PARTICIPANT SUBJECTIVITY

Research Team:

Stephanie Marder, Ph.D. Candidate

Dr. Miku Lenentine

Dr. Seth Harkins

Dr. Renata Aliani

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BACKGROUND -

Understanding Subjectivity

“The term subjectivity refers to the things that we say—silently to ourselves as in reveries or publicly to others as in conversation—from our own vantage point, and excluding that which is objective. It is an objective fact that Earth turns and that birds fly, but if someone asserts the beauty of a sunset (or man’s inhumanity to man, or the superiority of classical compared to popular music, or the reality of life after death, etc.), we have crossed over into the realm of opinion and conjecture.” (Brown, 2019), Pg. 565

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Link to Literature Review on Subjectivity : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ldoO2AOmvkh2qev9tkvEdFcLL_hk12fRumMNYA0aegE/edit?usp=sharing

RESEARCH PROBLEM

• As dedicated practitioners of Q Methodology we have still not substantively contributed to the theoretical understanding of of subjectivity since the time of William Stephenson.

• Too much emphasis has been on practical applications of Q

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*Steven attended the seminar several months ago and strongly encouraged us to consider taking this on!

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“My invitation was ...to take seriously what is as obvious as water is to a fish, although the fish so takes the water for granted that it might not occur to it that it’s surrounded by the stuff. We are likewise awash in subjectivity from morning ‘til night, but have little understanding as to its nature as a phenomenon or its operation, despite the fact that we have created an international society for its scientific examination.

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My concern is that we have, collectively, been distracted primarily by professional considerations and have limited our use of the technology to answering questions judged valuable by our professions, which in turn reinforce us for our fealty and for continuing to think inside the box. I am not opposed to this in toto, nor was Stephenson, who spent much of his career solving practical problems for advertisers and marketers … but that’s not all he did, and my invitation is for at least a few of us to devote some of our mental energy to thinking about subjectivity as such."

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RESEARCH GOALS

RESEARCH QUESTION

• Contribute to the theoretical understanding of of subjectivity
• Heed the call of Steven Brown
• Support ZoomQ community and community-based approach (process)
• Publish in Operant Subjectivity (to contribute to the Q community)
• Support collaboration among diverse researchers engaged in the study of subjectivity

What is the lived experience of subjectivity and intersubjectivity of the ZoomQ seminar participants?***

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***Participants being novice and expert-level Q methodologists associated with a methodology (and for some, a professional society) dedicated toward the scientific study of subjectivity. Practicing in different parts of the world in different languages and in different disciplinary fields.

RESEARCH GOALS

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is the lived experience of subjectivity and intersubjectivity of the ZoomQ seminar participants?***

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• Contribute to the theoretical understanding of of subjectivity
• Heed the call of Steven Brown
• Support ZoomQ community and community-based approach (process)
• Publish in Operant Subjectivity (to contribute to the Q community)
• Support collaboration among diverse researchers engaged in the study of subjectivity

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***Participants being novice and expert-level Q methodologists associated with a methodology (and for some, a professional society) dedicated toward the scientific study of subjectivity. Practicing in different parts of the world in different languages and in different disciplinary fields.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK(s)

• Phenomenology : “lived experience”
• Science of Subjectivity via Q Methodology
• Small Group Relations, Identity and Intersubjectivity
• Grounded Theory / Content Analysis
• Community-based Research Approach

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COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH

ZoomQ Seminar (weekly, monthly, Q-listserv) and Q Community of practice

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• Positive impact on the community
• Enriching for our experience and learning overall
• Contribute to an increased sense of community
• Supporting Q Intergenerationality and next gen. Q researchers
• Transparency, communicative, co-learning, community-based
• Participant observation (aka we are part of this too!)*
• Publish in Operant Subjectivity
• Present at the Annual Q Conference
• Present at seminar (weekly and monthly) for each of the four phases of study
• Workshops and discussion of learnings

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*We have been thoughtful about what “hats” we are wearing for different phases of the project.

As always, in community-based approaches where the researcher is part of the community, it is impossible to illuminate bias, but we will be as transparent and considerate as possible to be clear the impact we might have and what biases might be present

RESEARCH PHASES & METHODS

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*The IRB will go through National Louis University, with Seth Harkins as lead

Specific Timeline and Observational Units

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EXPECTED RESULTS & OUTCOMES

• Initially the recording of the ZoomQ seminars collected in Phase I will provide the concourse for the Q sort
• The transcripts also provide a rich resource that could be further analysed (thematic / discourse / word frequency)
• The Q sorting activity and post sort interview conducted in Phase II will offer an opportunity to identify the perspectives about subjectivity and intersubjectivity held by participants.
• The interviews conducted in Phase III with a selected number of participants will provide further insights
• Phase IV post-study interviews will create a way to collectively reflect on the process and engaging in co-learning

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• Peer reviewed journal publication(s)
• Presentations at ZoomQ Seminar
• Community Co-learning
• Intergenerational Mentoring and Professional Development
• Shared Cloud-based Bibliography

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HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

• Attend the seminar and participate in dialogue as usual (Phase I)
• Take Q sort (Phase II)
• Participate in follow-up interviews (Phases III & IV)
• Feedback during presentations
• Consulting and Ideas
• Short term volunteer help / opportunities especially for new learners

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Thank you to the ZoomQ Seminar! For all who have shared their time, questions and experiences with us.

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Thank you for the encouragement from Dr. Steven Brown and the late Dr. Mike Stricklin in particular, whose wisdom and guidance continue to inspire us. We also extend our gratitude for our Q Grandparents for their mentoring and advice :)