Cmap Construction: Challenges for the First Time Users and Perceptions of Cmap’s Value, a Qualitative Study

Constructing a Concept Map (CMap) is not an easy and straight forward process even for a seasoned CMapper. In order to get a better understanding of the specific challenges that CMap creators experience we collected subjective reports of difficulties that novice CMappers experienced during construction of their first map and what they perceived to be the advantages of this form of representation. Comment analysis revealed that the major sources of difficulty for the novice map creators were associated with creating concepts and relationships, planning and organizing the information, keeping their maps focused and avoid including irrelevant information. The design of the study and participants’ comments are discussed in detail. This information may be particularly useful to the CMap instructors who train novices.