Page 559 . Volume 8, Issue 2 November 2011 Q Methodology in Audience Research: Bridging the Qualitative/Quantitative ‘Divide’? Charles H. Davis Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada Carolyn Michelle University of Waikato, Aotearoa/New Zealand Abstract Q Methodology has been employed in research on audiences since the 1960s, but has not entered the mainstream of scholarly or commercial audience research, and most audience researchers remain unfamiliar with it. However, Q Methodology offers several advantages unmatched by other approaches to researching audiences, making it a potentially valuable addition to the researcher’s toolkit. Q Methodology provides insight into audience subjectivities in a much richer way than that provided by conventional surveys, while providing more structure and better replicability than purely qualitative approaches such as focus groups or ethnographic observation. Q Methodology's insight into the varieties of audience experiences also provides an opportunity to develop, explore, and test theory before moving to large scale surveys. Further, recent advances in software allow Q Methodology surveys to be administered online, and to thereby engage online users of a wide variety of media forms located on and offline. In this article, we re-introduce Q Methodology to the audience research community. First, we briefly recall Q Methodology’s principles, parameters, and operations. Then, we overview the key stages in conducting a Q study, illustrating major points with reference to relevant exemplary works. We conclude with observations regarding our recent experience in using Q Methodology in an online survey of cross-cultural responses to James Cameron’s feature film Avatar. Keywords: Q Methodology; qualitative research; online audiences; audience reception; Avatar Introduction Audience research is growing in scope and complexity with the expansion of audience roles from the traditional reader, listener, viewer, spectator, and citizen to the much more varied