Shared Goals in an Undergraduate Communication Curriculum: Using Q Methodology to Identify Community Expectations

Abstract

Communication, a diverse discipline that includes fields such as media studies, telecommunications, advertising, journalism, public relations and film, attracts both students and faculty with wide-ranging interests and needs. This study employs Q methodology at a small communication department housed at a major private research university to identify shared goals, expectations, and interests among communication undergraduates and faculty. Through Q methodology, three distinct groups or factors emerged, and areas of consensus among those groups were identified that facilitated the drafting of a new, proposed mission statement for the communication department. The article concludes that Q methodology is a valuable tool to locate consensus and shared perceptions and values within university departments that include students and faculty with diverse interests and areas of study.