Q-Methodology as the Source of Knowledge About the Connections between the Students‘Personal Characteristics and their Reader Preferences

AbstractThe purpose of the study is to find out the relations between the respondents’ personal characteristics and their reading preferences in poetry. The methods of semantic differential and q-methodology were used for the research. Semantic differential method was modified to meet the purpose of measuring the reception of poetry and three factors were monitored in the students’ responses to the poems: the factors of comprehensibility, evaluation and impressiveness. The students used this method to assess selected poems. Q-methodology was used to monitor the students’ attitudes towards life values, their personal states, personality characteristics and their opinions of literature (especially poetry) teaching methods. The respondents rank-ordered the Q-sample statements related to the area of the research. We bring the essential survey of the changes in Q-rank-ordering in various age groups (12–18 years old)