Social Discourse and Environmental Policy : An Application of Q Methodology

The book highlights the history of Q methodology, a technique for systematically studying the subjectivity of individuals, and provides a brief yet comprehensive account of its theory and a detailed guide to the various stages of a Q study. The methodology is then applied, to explore the discourses concerning the relationship between society and a diverse range of environmental issues including, environmental protest, civil aviation policy, forest policy and land use options.

The authors demonstrate how the use of Q methodology offers a methodical insight into the public conceptualisation of environmental issues, thus providing improved frameworks for identifying environmental topics and facilitating policy dialogue. They emphasise the deconstructive advantages of Q methodology as a means of re-examining controversial issues and providing policymakers with a more authentic understanding of the beliefs of stakeholders, prior to developing policies. This analytical approach, the book argues, is more 'democratic', as it provides a greater recognition of socio-political attitudes than the findings of conventional polls and surveys.

This definitive book will prove a much needed addition to the empirical literature on environmental attitudes and will be invaluable reading for ecological economists, environmental policymakers and organisations, and students, researchers and practitioners of Q methodology.