Book Review: Social Discourse and Environmental Policy: An Application of Q Methodology

Abstract

Arriving in the midst of a flurry of publications about Q and the environment, Addams and Proops’ compilation successfully demonstrates the value of Q Methodology in assessing complex, multi-layered social policies. (For recent publications on Q and environmental policy, see Webler et al. 2001, Robbins 2000, Steelman 2000, Woolley and McGinnis 2000, Woolley et al. 2000, Peritore 1999, van Eeten 1999, and Kalof 1997-98.) The anthology’s selections provide a strong endorsement of Q methodology, which the authors find a natural fit for evaluation of environmental policy; indeed, the editors note that it is an “almost perfect technique for the initial states of environmental policy analysis†(p. ix).