Introduction

The QIIAS ['kwiˌas] sorting instrument was developed for the following purposes:

• To have a low-saliency prompt for interviews.
• To provide a physical, mediational instrument for interviewees.
• It allows interviewees to make direct comparisons between multiple items, as opposed to isolated Likert-like scales.
• The adjustable scales can be converted to a relative numerical value for cross-participant comparisons. (see: calculator)

Pilot

The pilot using this instrument was primarily interested in investigating attitudes regarding language education policy. You can find a few examples from the pilot on the Examples Page.

Participant Response

Participants responded favorably to the instrument, often using descriptors like "fun" and "interesting". On average, training took about 20 seconds, using the simple three card ordering demonstration used in the video intro above.

Beyond those rules, participants were able to organize things anyway they liked and some found some unique ways of using the instrument to convey their opinions (see: Examples).