Concept Maps as Tools for Scientific Research in Microbiology: a Case Study

In scientific research there is often the need to increase the organization of data and to optimize communication of results either in a conference or as a scientific article. Researchers should be able to externalize their critical thinking, their problem solving skills and their ability to interconnect knowledge. Concept maps are pedagogical tools that help researchers to structure their practical ideas and results in useful ways. Concept mapping were used extensively to communicate and clarify ideas, help researchers see the relationships and the organization among concepts, solve problems, and support the design of their work. In this study, concept maps were used as a research tool by a team of research scientists. Our intent is to provide a rationale and explain the practical approach underlying our use of concept maps. A distinctive aspect of our use of maps is that rather than being only a tool for clarifying the ideas and results obtained, concept maps are tools that researchers can use to support their diary work. A case study is described using three different projects: the first approach concerns the use of concept maps to analyse and review a scientific article, the second is the use of concept maps to design a scientific work and the third one is the use of concept maps in protocols or detailed methods section for laboratory work.