An evaluation of the use of concept maps to represent students' knowledge of research methods in psychology

This paper is a report of research on the potential validity of concept maps as a representation of students’ knowledge of research methods in psychology. Concept maps may provide insight into the content and structure of students’ knowledge that traditional assessment methods do not. In this paper we examine the rationale underlying the use of concept maps and issues associated with their use. We also report a qualitative study in which we employed concept maps to assess students’ knowledge. Finally, there is a description of a potential application of concept mapping to the evaluation of students' knowledge, currently being investigated by the authors