Mind maps and causal models: using graphical representations of field research data

ABSTRACT

We recently completed a series of field visits to understand how workers use the Internet in their daily work activities. At each site, the team used traditional field research methods such as work observations, artifact walk-throughs, and contextual inquiry. An innovative debrief process was developed to understand, summarize and document each visit. In addition to a structured debrief questionnaire, the team created graphical summary notes using "mind maps." These mind maps efficiently captured a nonlinear, graphical clustering of key ideas. A "causal loop diagram" was also developed to document the team's understanding of the internal and external driving forces for each organization. Taken together, the debrief questionnaire, the mind maps, and the causal loop diagrams provided a rich multimedia representation of the field data.

REFERENCES

• 1: Miles, M. & Huberman, A. Qualitative Data Analysis. Qualitative Data Analysis. California: Sage Publications. 1994.
• 2: Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., & Smith, B. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

INDEX TERMS

Keywords:
ethnography, qualitative data analysis, research methods