Evaluating an Inquiry-based Bioinformatics Course Using Q Methodology Susan E. Ramlo 1 , David McConnell 2 , Zhong-Hui Duan 3 and Francisco B. Moore 4 Published online: 4 March 2008 Abstract Faculty at a Midwestern metropolitan public university recently developed a course on bioinformatics that emphasized collaboration and inquiry. Bioinformatics, essentially the application of computational tools to biological data, is inherently interdisciplinary. Thus part of the challenge of creating this course was serving the needs and backgrounds of a diverse set of students, predominantly computer science and biology undergraduate and graduate students. Although the researchers desired to investigate student views of the course, they were interested in the potentially different perspectives. Q methodology, a measure of subjectivity, allowed the researchers to determine the various student perspectives in the bioinformatics course. Keywords Bioinformatics - Q methodology - Assessment - Subjectivity - Course evaluation Introduction The rapidly emerging discipline of bioinformatics studies biological processes and genomic and proteomic data using analytic theory and practical tools of computer science, mathematics and statistics. Bioinformatics techniques allow biologists to sift through enormous volumes of data and discern biological patterns that have long been too intricate to identify. Advances in genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics will impact society at the biomedical, economic, cultural, and political. A national need for a workforce knowledgeable in bioinformatics has thus emerged and created full bioinformatics programs, single dedicated courses, and summer workshop programs. Journal of Science Education and Technology © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008 10.1007/s10956-008-9090-x (1) Department of Engineering & Science Technology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA (2) Department of Geology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA (3) Department of Computer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA (4) Department of Biology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA Susan E. Ramlo Email: sramlo@uakron.edu Page 1 of 12 10.1007/s10956-008-9090-x 3/5/2008 http://www.springerlink.com/content/n0tq77wjg013402v/fulltext.html