Concept Mapping: Soft Science or Hard Art?

In this paper the scientific side of concept mapping is viewed as "soft science" and the artistic one as "hard art" to imply that the process has some qualities of both, but probably does not fall exclusively within either's domain. In the spirit of hard art, a "gallery" of final concept maps from twenty projects is presented, partly to illustrate more examples of the process when used in a variety of subject areas and for different purposes, and partly for their aesthetic value alone. In the spirit of soft science, two major issues are considered. First, the evidence for the validity and reliability of concept mapping is introduced, along with some suggestions for further research which might be undertaken to examine those characteristics. Second, the role of concept mapping is discussed, with special emphasis on its use in a pattern matching framework. This document is intended for use by novice evaluators and professional evaluators in workshops and conferences. Educational levels: Graduate or professional