Hi everyone,
I'm interested to know if any of you have commissioned research using the 3CM (conceptual content cognitive map) technique. Our group is looking into conducting a cognitive mapping exercise in which we would determine the mental models possessed by Canadians of "environmental issues". We'd like to know if people conceive of environmental problems discretely, or lump problems - such as climate change and air pollution - into one big category called "the environment" (or, if there is a spectrum of mental models, what that spectrum consists of). If anyone has conducted this kind of research, I'd be interested in learning about your experience and results.
Thanks very much.
Maurice Muise
Manager - Online Marketing
One-Tonne Challenge
Environment Canada
(819) 956-5643
www.onetonnechallenge.gc.ca
Cognitive Mapping of Environmental Problems
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You might try Institute for Learning Innovation in Annapolis, Md. http://www.ilinet.org/ They have done a lot with Personal Meaning Mapping and are studying the effect of conservation/environmental exhibits and programs at several zoos and aquariums
Linda Wilson
Director,
Audience Research and Evaluation
John G. Shedd Aquarium
1200 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605
[email protected]
PH (312) 692 3261
FAX (312) 939-8677
Maurice,
I don't know if anyone else has replied to you already, but I am a doctoral student at the University of Michigan working with the Kaplans, who developed 3CM. I've used 3CM in a class project to assess students' mental maps of course goals/content at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester. I've also done 3CM with residential builders about what green building means to them and what they feel it would take to get more builders in unstructured and structured formats respectively. I found it to be a valuable tool for exploring these topics as well as relatively easy to implement. In my work with residential builders I used the unstructured to explore the topic which led to the structured which I then refined into a set of survey items. This iterative process allowed me to move outward from a very small sample to a survey structure suitable for widespread sampling. With both the structured and unstructured formats I did discover new groupings and structure that I didn't anticipate and proved valuable to my understanding of the problems I am looking at.
My very initial reaction to your idea is to be cautious about asking about a very diffuse topic like "environmental issues" I think 3CM works best with a topic that is close at hand to the population being sampled - so they are likely to be able to respond to the question more readily. I am aware of it being used with stakeholders in land-use (Kearney), housing (Wells), perceptions of hazardous waste siting decisions (Austin). There are also pros and cons of unstructured (lets participants create items but can be more challenging to analyze) and structured (allows for quantitative analysis but you have to define the boundaries of the maps) that should be considered.
I don't know if this is helpful. I am happy to answer more questions if you like.
Kif Scheuer
School of Natural Reources and Environment
University of Michigan
Dear Maurice:
CFIB did some interesting research on how Canadian small business thinks. As many of their respondents are in companies with less than 5 people, the position that hold is similar to householders. There is a difference between what they are concerned with in the environmental sphere and what they believe they can do something about. If you click onto the CFIB site look for the survey on Environment that was conducted in the year 2000, and read the report the Natural Facts under publications. http://www.cfib.ca We have run some surveys with smes of late and are finding similar results. We have also done work with school kids and mapping techniques, which incorporate the problem solving aspects of mapping with Climate Change issues. See the Annual Conservation Contest linked through E2M or Glassworks.
Cheers
Lynn L. E. Johannson, B.E.S. (Hons), M.Sc.,
FRSA President E2 Management Corporation (E2M)
113 Mountainview Road South Georgetown,
Ontario CANADA L7G 4K2
Tel: (1) 905 - 873 - 9484
Maurice,
The best mind mapping technique that I know of --- for individuals or for groups -- is a method that specifically captures the view of the relationships "between" issues. This is heavy lifting, but this is also where the interconnections among issues needs to be understood. This may not be a problem, though, if you are looking for a descriptive tool .... because most folks do not connect the dots. If you are looking for a normative tool ... then you might look into a structured design process such as recently described by Christakis. He summarizes the methodology along with examples in a book with a title too long to easily remember. search: "How people harness their collective wisdom and power to construct the future in co-laboratories of democracy"
I am sure that you will get suggestions for other solid sources of mapping tools from others on our list.
Cheers,
Tom Flanagan
College of Management UMASS Boston