This talk will focus on applications for using Visual Q-methodology; an research innovative technique that can be used to explore visual values. This presentation will describe how visual Q-method was used to explore rural landscape preferences, and participants’ responses to wind energy landscapes in Ontario, Canada. Q-methodology is an innovative research technique that provides quantitative and qualitative information about the subjective values of participants. Usually studies are designed to explore how people “talk about” an issue, but the method can also support research using visual information – how people “see” a subject. Using 35 watercolour illustrations of diverse rural landscapes, residents sorted the images in order of preference in a pyramid-shaped grid. The data was analysed statistically using “PQ-method” software, and four factors emerged from the data. Aided by information provided in a brief questionnaire, the patterns were interpreted to provide insights into the subjective landscape values held by various rural residents.

In upcoming research, visual Q-method project will be designed to explore children’s preferences for play experiences in urban and natural spaces. Our project will test the suitability of Visual Q-methodology as a technique to explore how school-aged children perceive a variety of play environments, and what play experiences they find enjoyable. it is hoped that the results may reveal patterns, and interpretation may provide a window into the differences and similarities between children in the 9-10 year old age group.

About the speaker:

Christine Hempel is a researcher, planner, and urban designer with a professional background in illustration. She recently obtained her PhD from the University of Guelph, Canada, where she used Visual Q-methodology to explore residents’ landscape preferences and environmental perceptions in the rural landscape of Southwestern Ontario.