"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.
Mary Kane is the Chief Executive and Principal Consultant at Concept Systems. Having built the company from a single person "shop" to a well-regarded consulting and methodology company, Ms. Kane has restructured the Concept System project methodology and client processes to ensure that organizations benefit fully from CSI's capabilities. Her consulting experience includes strategic operational planning, product and program development, education and training design, and program needs assessment and evaluation. She supports clients, in addition, with organizational and leadership development consultations. With clients and research colleagues, she has coauthored several articles on the applications of Concept Mapping and Pattern Matching in organizational decision-making and strategic planning. Ms. Kane is co-author of the definitive volume on Concept Mapping: Concept Mapping for Planning and Evaluation (Sage Publications, 2007). For over 15 years, Ms. Kane has planned and conducted process and group consulting for federal, state and county agencies, health and mental health organizations, private corporations, not-for-profit agencies, and school districts. She has provided consulting counsel to groups ranging from small boards of directors to organizations represented by thousands of stakeholders. Ms. Kane co-founded and became the principal executive of CSI in 1993 after a successful career in the management and growth of community-based cultural and learning organizations. Under her leadership, the Company has invested in the redevelopment of the software and process technology, and expanded the scope of CSI methods and services to meet clients' needs even more effectively. Ms. Kane holds a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences from Columbia University. Prof. Trochim is the Director of Evaluation for the Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center -- a collaboration of Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Hospital for Special Surgery, Hunter College and Cornell Cooperative Extension -- and participates actively in the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards national evaluation. He is developing evaluation systems for the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He is actively engaged in research with the National Science Foundation incorporating systems approaches in the evaluation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programs. And, as Director of Evaluation for Extension and Outreach, Prof. Trochim works with Cornell University Cooperative Extension programs throughout New York State on planning and implementing evaluation systems for their outreach and education programs.
Preface Acknowledgments 1. An Introduction to Concept Mapping 2. Preparing for Concept Mapping 3. Generating the Ideas 4. Structuring the Statements 5. Concept Mapping Analysis 6. Interpreting the Maps 7. Using Concept Mapping in Planning 8. Using Concept Mapping in Evaluation 9. Mapping the Future Appendix: Concept Mapping Dissertations References Index About the Authors
Mary Kane and Bill Trochim are the public face of "concept mapping" for most us who do planning and evaluation in public health. This volume is an enormously helpful and comprehensive look at concept mapping not only for those unfamiliar with the concept, but for those, like me, who have experienced the approach as a consumer, but have interest in the intricacies of the "hows" and "added value" of concept mapping over other approaches. Best of all, they do an exceptional job of using concept mapping to integrate planning and evaluation, linking the hermetically sealed boxes in which these disciplines often live in large organizations. -- Thomas Chapel "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
