The use of Q methodology to study how American students define politics

This study proposes the use of Q methodology and its techniques to explore American students' perceptions of politics. It is assumed that perceptions of political reality form the basis for the development of political opinions and behaviors. The study returns to a basic question in the discipline of political science, "How do people think about politics?" It challenges the role of political scientists as the sole political experts. The students in this study expressed their versions of politics by means of the Q-sort. It allows persons to represent their subjective views. Differences of opinion about the meaning of politics were discovered by examining how the definitions of the Q-sample were sorted and ranked by each student under three conditions of instruction. Six "new" definitions were constructed. This finding suggests that there is not only a convergence of views among individuals, but also that there are many different convergences. This study is an effort to expand the focus of political science by demonstrating that students, peripheral members of the discipline, can imaginatively construct their own complex and diverse definitions of politics.