Concept mapping: an effective way to organize information

Concept mapping helps represent the available information visually in a comprehensive and clear manner. This is an easy way to gather and communicate information.  

This article is from www.mind-pad.com, official web-site of Mind Pad utility.

The importance of organizing information

In the information-based society, the ability to handle complex information is extremely important. To analyze the current state in the project progress, plan future activities or discover problem solutions, you need to arrange the available information properly. Explicit knowledge representation encourages creativity and helps integrate generated ideas and viewpoints in the previous concept. This proves to be highly effective for assisting and enhancing group brainstorming.

Using concept mapping

A particularly good method to organize information about a specific subject or problem is concept mapping. Concept mapping arranges the existing information in a form of a web diagram, or “concept map”. Typically, a concept map consists of concepts enclosed in circles or boxes called nodes, linked by lines or arrows that may be labeled and illustrate relationships between concepts. The information structured in a concept map is more easily accessible; it can be quickly understood and shared with others.

When starting to construct a concept map, it is important to define one or more central, most inclusive concepts for a certain problem or situation. This concept should be placed at the top of the map. More specific concepts should be arranged in the hierarchical fashion below the key concept.

After the preliminary concept map is constructed, it should be revised several times. The final concept map is normally a comprehensive structure containing a number of principal and subordinate concepts with explicit links showing in which way the concepts are related to each other.

Concept map is an easy way to handle complex information

You can use concept mapping to visualize information and present it in the most comprehensible form. Properly organized information helps easily understand and evaluate the existing knowledge and opens the way for effective planning and research.  

Evaluate Mind Pad

Mind Pad is a concept mapping software. You can download fully-function 30-days evaluation version of Mind Pad: http://www.mind-pad.com/download.htm 

Personal license of Mind Pad costs 60 US$. Please, visit ordering page for more information.

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