Perceptions of Poverty and Policy Preferences
The Contribution of Q Methodology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6452162 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stephen Sinclair (0000-0001-7869-3503, Scottish Poverty & Inequality Research Unit Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow UK, corresponding author), Neil Mchugh (0000-0002-2567-1527, Yunus Centre for Social Business & Health Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow UK), J H Mckendrick (0000-0002-5683-7251, Glasgow Caledonian University), Ruth Lightbody (0000-0001-5209-1037, Scottish Poverty & Inequality Research Unit Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow UK), Laura Robertson (0000-0001-9690-0799, The Poverty Alliance Glasgow UK), Fiona Mchardy (0000-0003-3688-8200, University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1191-1203 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/spol.13122 |
| OpenAlex | W4406546898 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
The nature, causes and consequences of poverty have been debated for many years and remain controversial. However, some degree of consensus is a pre‐requisite for feasible, sustainable and effective policy responses to poverty. Research methods which can improve understanding of public attitudes towards poverty and identify potential areas of consensus are particularly valuable. Q methodology is a research tool which has the potential to identify points of consensus and contention in relation to poverty. This article introduces the main features of Q and illustrates its potential value by outlining how it was applied to inform the policy recommendations of a Poverty Commission in a city in Britain. The project identified a number of significant points of consensus and controversy in participants’ perceptions of the consequences of poverty and preferences regarding responses to it. These findings are related to ideas about how the poverty discourse can be framed to cultivate a more supportive narrative of how poverty is understood and addressed
Economic growth · Economics · Perception · Political science · Poverty · Public economics · Sociology · Psychology · Q Methodology Applications
Political subjectivity
Doing Q Methodological Research
Attitudes to inequalities
Arguing for Deliberation
Rethinking poverty
Q methodology to select participants for a stakeholder dialogue on energy options from biomass in the Netherlands
Association between individualism and welfare attitudes
Understanding social–ecological vulnerability with Q-methodology
Talking heresy about ‘quality’ early childhood education and care for children in poverty
Comparing Public Perceptions of the Necessities of Life across Two Societies
Perceived welfare deservingness of needy people in transition countries
Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs
Q methodology in social work research
Ideas, Narratives and Representations of Poverty amongst the Urban Middle Class in India
The Law of Group Polarization
Poverty, ethnic minorities among the poor, and preferences for redistribution in European regions
Nudge
Navigating the stigmatised identities of poverty in austere times
The contribution of deliberative forums to studying welfare state attitudes
Public beliefs regarding the causes of poverty during transition
Where Have the Respondents Gone? Perhaps We Ate Them All
Legitimacy Problems in Deliberative Democracy
On the Prospects for Democratic Deliberation
Who should get what, and why? On deservingness criteria and the conditionality of solidarity among the public
Do policy actors have different views of what constitutes evidence in policymaking
Discursive Designs
Religious and Spiritual Beliefs Uniquely Predict Poverty Attributions
Attitudes to poverty in Slovakia
Poverty in Global Perspective
Consensual Approaches to the Definition of Poverty
Consensual Approaches to Poverty Lines and Social Security
Intergenerational Social Mobility and Popular Explanations of Poverty
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |