Hindsight is 20/20: Reflections on the evolution of concept mapping

William M. Trochim

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2017, vol. 60, issue C, 176-185

Abstract: This paper considers the origins and development of the concept mapping methodology, a summary of its growth, and its influence in a variety of fields. From initial discussions with graduate students, through the rise of the theory-driven approach to program evaluation and the development of a theoretical framework for conceptualization methodology, the paper highlights some of the key early efforts and pilot projects that culminated in a 1989 special issue on the method in Evaluation and Program Planning that brought the method to the attention of the field of evaluation. The paper details the thinking that led to the standard version of the method (the analytic sequence, “bridging” index, and pattern matching) and the development of the software for accomplishing it. A bibliometric analysis shows that the rate of citation continues to increase, where it has grown geographically and institutionally, that the method has been used in a wide variety of disciplines and specialties, and that the literature had an influence on the field. The article concludes with a critical appraisal of some of the key aspects of the approach that warrant further development.

Keywords: Concept mapping; Construct validity; Pattern matching; Theory of conceptualization; Multidimensional scaling; Cluster analysis; Bridging analysis; Go-zone plot; Bibliometric analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:60:y:2017:i:c:p:176-185

DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2016.08.009

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