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Incorporating human subjectivity in applied disciplines of social sciences and other base sciences poses a challenge as the nature of qualitative data is often the point of contention. Q methodology is a tool that addresses this challenge as it helps quantify qualitative data using Q factor analysis. Initially developed for psychology and political sciences, Q methodology now finds its use in many research disciplines of science, especially in interdisciplinary studies that take into account human subjectivity. This article provides a detailed description on the various steps involved in conducting a Q study, with special emphasis on data interpretation. To describe the methodology and demonstrate data interpretation, we used data from our pilot case study of socio-ecological nature that documents attitudes of people towards nature conservation on private land. Additionally, we mention the specific usefulness of this method, highlight the potential challenges at each step of the approach, and provide practical advice to overcome them. In our opinion, Q methodology has been more restricted in its use on the ground of being a more social or psychological tool, and therefore, our aim is to familiarize researchers who could be interested in a mixed approach of joining quantitative data analysis with qualitative, in-depth interpretation with the approach at hand.

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Skills shortages and mismatches on the Polish labour market and public policy recommendationsStudies from various countries indicate that one of the most important issues recently affecting the labour market is skills mismatch and skills shortage. This paper presents the results of imbalances on the Polish labour market in the period 2010-2014. The research took a unique approach by comparing data on positions and skills from both the demand and supply perspectives in order to deduce the impacts on skills shortage and skills mismatch. It examined a wider range of skills as compared to other similar approaches and further referred them to positions for which they were requested by employers. The findings were then juxtaposed with the opinions of job seekers for the same positions. Based on the results, the paper presents a set of recommendations for public policies designed to address those problems. The findings of this research are consistent with similar studies in other countries, thus emphasising the applicability of the method and the findings in a broader context.

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