Concept Mapping for Planning and Evaluation

"At last, an up-to-date, how-to-text on concept mapping in evaluation!...Mary Kane and William Trochim, instrumental in the development and promotion of concept mapping, have finally produced such book, which will enable experienced evaluators and program planners to add concept mapping to their suite of methods."

—Rick Cummings, Evaluation Journal of Australasia

Concept mapping is a methodology for mapping ideas that integrates input from multiple sources with differing expertise or interest, creates maps with multivariate data analyses that depict the composite thinking of the group, and yields data that allows for comparisons across rating criteria, stakeholder groups, different points in time, etc. to aid in targeted planning, implementation strategies, and evaluation.  Group concept mapping is related to the growing interest in the role that theory plays in planning and evaluation.

Concept Mapping for Planning and Evaluation is a thorough, accessible guide to concept mapping for social or organizational researchers in any context.  The volume describes the history of structured conceptualization--a most useful form of concept mapping.  It also highlights the advantages that group or community concept mapping has over other kinds of group decision processes.  With straightforward language and useful examples from the authors′ 40 combined years of creating and working with this process, the book describes in detail the six major steps in the conduct of group concept mapping, and shares both the process of concept mapping and the equally important facilitation and guidance techniques that the authors have developed.  Examples from work with clients like the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and state government, as well as interesting examples from concept mapping in social research contexts, illustrate each step in the process.  Each chapter provides work sheets for readers to create their own concept mapping plans.  References that provide recommendations for further reading are included, as well as contact information for research guidance.

Key Features:

Provides a complete guide to the concept mapping methodology and strategies behind using it for a broad range of social scientists -- including students, researchers, and practitioners. Pays special attention to the issues facing the facilitator of a concept mapping project, where the authors share considerable real-world experience in planning and implementing these projects, together with extensive content on the technical underpinnings of this method and its key issues in analysis and results interpretation. Features closing chapters on using concept mapping in planning and evaluation which show some of the broad range of how concept mapping can be applied in practice, together with detailed examples from actual practice. Includes forms for readers to use in their own concept mapping activities.