What does the act of sorting signify?
Generally speaking, sorting is a model of human communication in action. When sorting, a person is literally “in conversation” with her/himself regarding the statements in the Q sample. When completed the statements have been put into positions (or rank ordered) assigned by the sorter. Significantly, the positions of the statements are relative one to the others in a way that can only be provided by the sorter. Using Q technique the rank orders of every sort can be formally analyzed.
