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Quantifying qualitative data using

cognitive maps
a
Hans-Åke Scherp
a
Pedagogy , Universitetsg. 1, Karlstad University , Karlstad ,
S-651 88 , Sweden
Published online: 19 Jun 2012.

To cite this article: Hans-Åke Scherp (2013) Quantifying qualitative data using cognitive
maps, International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 36:1, 67-81, DOI:
10.1080/1743727X.2012.696244

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 International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2013
Vol. 36, No. 1, 67–81, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2012.696244

Quantifying qualitative data using cognitive maps

Hans-Åke Scherp∗

Pedagogy, Universitetsg. 1, Karlstad University, Karlstad, S-651 88, Sweden

(Received 9 June 2011; final version received 7 February 2012)

The aim of the article is to show how substantial qualitative material consisting of
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graphic cognitive maps can be analysed by using digital CmapTools, Excel and
SPSS. Evidence is provided of how qualitative and quantitative methods can be
combined in educational research by transforming qualitative data into
quantitative data to facilitate discoveries of patterns in the data. Examples are
drawn from research on conceptions of both different teaching methods and on
school leadership related to school development. The rationale for using
cognitive map interviews as a method for data collection is presented. Cognitive,
theoretical and methodological issues are discussed. Tools that might be used to
facilitate detection of patterns in a substantial number of maps are reviewed. It is
demonstrated how unique expressions on individual cognitive maps visualizing
different understandings can be transformed into a common system of concepts
which make it possible to use quantitative methods to find patterns in
comprehensive qualitative data.
Keywords: cognitive map; quantitative method; qualitative method; research method

Background
Since 1998, our research group has studied school development to gain a deeper under-
standing of and examine the meaning of organizational learning and learning commu-
nities in schools on the basis of day-today immediacy (Scherp 2003; Scherp and Scherp
2007; Kristiansson, Scherp, and Fagerström 2008.)
We have used cognitive maps to illuminate students’, teachers’ and school leaders’
understanding of everyday problems, of learning and teaching, of leadership and of
development work. Patterns found in cognitive maps have been used to clarify how
different understandings are related to school results and how they differ between
schools situated in areas with different socioeconomic status.
In this article, results from two of these studies are presented to illustrate the
methods in question. The final results of these studies will be presented in separate
articles. The philosophical, ontological and epistemological rationales for the use of
quantitative or qualitative methods and in what respect they can be seen as irreconcil-
able or compatible lie outside the scope of this article. These aspects are illuminated in,
for example, Luttrell (2005), Scott (2007) and Larsson (2009).

Cognitive maps
A cognitive map can be seen as a graphical representation of an individual’s con-
ceptions or system of conceptions about given phenomena. Like geographical maps,
∗
Email: hans-ake.scherp@kau.se

# 2013 Taylor & Francis

 68 H-Å. Scherp

it provides a simplified image of something larger and more complex. A cognitive map
creates an overview of the ‘mental landscape’ of an individual. It consists of a number
of concepts, linking lines and arrows, which show and describe how the different con-
cepts are perceived to be related to each other in terms of propositions about the
phenomena. The use of cognitive maps is based on a representational ontology and
epistemology. Concepts, annotations on the concepts and links between different con-
cepts represent conceptions and systems of conceptions. The term conception is used to
denominate phenomena such as understandings, learning, ideas and conclusions held
by the individual or shared by a group. The graphic visualizations of an understanding
or perception of a phenomenon are variously denominated in the research literature as
mind maps (Buzan 1974), cognitive maps (Miles and Khattri 1995) and concept maps
(Novak 1990). Buzan’s idea with mind maps was primarily to promote recall and
memory of facts by organizing key words into a radiant structure that looks like a
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tree seen from above. Concept mapping was developed in the 1970s and spread by
Novak and Gowin (1984), especially in the science-teaching domain. In this article,
the label cognitive maps will be used in agreement with Miles and Khattri (1995)
who have used cognitive maps in connection with school development.
It is necessary to differentiate between knowledge visualization and information
visualization. Information is seen as knowledge owned and generated by others and
knowledge is constructed and integrated in an individual’s own understanding. Maps
can be used to visualize new information that is complex and aims at making it
more accessible to the learner. A teacher can, for example, start by making a map of
concepts to illustrate different aspects of a topic and provide a holistic picture as a
basis for the subsequent learning process. Knowledge visualization is a result of
inquires within one’s own understanding. It illustrates the understanding of an interpret-
ation. Aligned with constructivist and gestalt theory, Ausubel (1968) argues in the epi-
graph ‘The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already
knows’.
Clarifying and visualizing pre-existing conceptions is an important starting point for
initiating new processes in learning and teaching.

Underpinning theoretical assumptions

An individual creates a pattern of conceptions where different conceptions are related to
each other in a way governed by a sense-making holistic organizing principle. Based on
a structural approach of the theory of social representations, Abric (2001), in accord-
ance with Lewin (1963), maintains that the conceptions of a domain are organized
around a core that is sense making for the parts. The core has both an organizing
and sense-making function. It is, however, difficult to empirically identify this core
on the basis of more peripheral elements. Abric argues that three important character-
istics must be taken into consideration when defining and separating the core from other
elements. The first is the symbolic and central value of the conception. The second is its
associative value, that is, how frequently it is related to a large number of more periph-
eral elements. The third is its expressive value, that is, how frequently the conception is
mentioned. The core gives stability to the system of conceptions.
Siemens (2005) has in recent years argued for the theory of connectivism, where
learning is understood as a network formation process of connecting specialized
nodes or information sources. Ability to see connections and recognize patterns of
relation between fields, ideas and concepts is the core skill.
 International Journal of Research & Method in Education 69

According to Lewin (1963), a well-developed holistic idea is characterized by a

high degree of differentiation where many independent and separate cells are structured
into an organized homogeneity. Lewin defined degree of differentiation in terms of
number of cells provided and he demanded that the cells are well organized, i.e.
related to each other in a meaning-making way. To determine whether or not a
number of cells constitute a unifying and meaning-making whole, Lewin referred to
simple unity, which means the degree of dependence between the cells. If the depen-
dence between the cells within a pattern is greater than with cells in another pattern,
they constitute parts in a common whole. Correlations in quantitative inquires can be
used to decide the relatedness of a cell to a holistic unity.

Different mapping techniques

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Different mapping techniques are related to and more appropriate for different pur-
poses. Some mapping procedures start with a standard list of concepts that someone
else has selected (Champagne, Klopfer, and Squires 1981). The mapping person is
then asked to arrange and connect them by using lines and arrows, and to describe
the character of linkages between them. This mapping technique is often used in
well-defined domains, for instance, when teachers want to know how students under-
stand a topic. The technique makes it possible to identify misconceptions or qualities
in the students’ conceptions in relation to a correct answer. One of the disadvantages
with this technique is that it restricts individual novel ideas within a topic where
there are numerous and divergent possible solutions.
Miles and Khattri (1995) used the cognitive mapping method to understand restruc-
turing in two schools. They began data collection with a ‘pre-mapping’ interview. From
this interview, key phrases were written on post-its by the interviewer using the infor-
mant’s own words. At the next interview, the informant was asked to arrange the post-
its on a large sheet of paper and explain concept clusters and linkages. The researchers
taped the interview and afterwards wrote a descriptive text from the tape and the map.
The text and the map were then presented to the informant for validation.
When an informant is given the chance to react to the suggestions written on the
post-its, there is an increased risk that the interviewer influences the construction of
the map. The concepts would probably have been different if the informant in the
‘pre-mapping’ interview had written them. However, there are also problems that
arise when the concepts of the informants are used. In our research on school develop-
ment projects (Scherp and Thelin 2004; Scherp and Scherp 2007; Kristiansson, Scherp,
and Fagerström 2008), we found it important that the creation of the map progresses as
a result of a dialogue. Bandler and Grinder (1975) noted in their studies of the process
of communication in therapeutic contexts:

When humans wish to communicate their representation, their experience of the world,
they form a complete linguistic representation of their experience; this is called the
Deep Structure. As they begin to speak, they make a series of choices (transformations)
about the form in which they will communicate their experience. These choices are not, in
general, conscious choices. . . .The process of making this series of choices (a derivation)
results in a Surface Structure . . . This Surface Structure itself can be viewed as a represen-
tation of the full linguistic representation – the Deep Structure. (p. 35)

If the informant creates the map by herself, there is a risk that the map will be
restricted to the surface structure. The purpose of the sense-making questions in the
 70 H-Å. Scherp

interview is to help the informant to come closer to the deep structure and thereby
enhance the validity of the map in relation to the informant’s mental representation.

The interview
The informant was asked to write down key words or short phrases that capture her con-
ceptions about a phenomenon as, for example, how to support students in their learning
in the very best way. Post-it notes were used and one word or short phrase was written
on each note. The informant was then asked to arrange the post-it notes on a flip chart in
an appropriate sense-making graphic arrangement. The informant was asked to choose
one of the post-it notes to begin with and then asked why she chose that specific note as
the choice might be an indication of the core element of the map. The interviewer then
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asked open questions to get a deeper and more valid understanding of the meaning of
each post-it statement. Examples of questions were:

. You have written . . . how did you think?

. Can you help me to understand what you mean with . . .
. Can you elaborate that a little bit further?
. How do you mean when . . .?
. Can you give me an example of. . .?

The essence of the answers was written down in connection with the post-its to
which the comments refer, using the informant’s own words. Even if informants
were using the same concept, it might have quite different meanings depending on
the holistic unity in which the concept is embedded. Lines were drawn between state-
ments that the informant saw as related, with or without arrows, depending upon how
the relationship was explained by the informant. Statements about the character of the
links were written on the lines or arrows in a telegraphic form.
Weick (2001) emphasizes the importance of capturing the pattern of interrelations
between the concepts on the map to understand the meaning of what is being said.

A more stubborn problem is the fact that meaning does not reside in the labels attached to
concepts. Instead, meaning lies in the map itself – that is, in the larger pattern among the
other labels to which a specific label is linked and between these other labels and the
specific label. (p. 316)

As the meaning of a statement is dependent upon its context, the risk for misunder-
standing decreases as each statement is integrated in the holistic map. The interviewer
might need to probe more about some of the statements when these are seen in the
appearance of the whole map. To see the evolving map also stimulates the informant
to further reflections, which deepens the dialogue. Before ending the interview, the
informant was asked to scrutinize the map and if necessary to revise it to get a more
valid cognitive map. As the annotations on the map were open and readable during
the whole mapping process, the informant continuously could validate the interviewers’
understanding of the statements.
The mapping technique is aligned with criteria of quality for a scientific interview.
Kvale (1997) emphasizes the importance of spontaneous, rich and relevant answers,
short questions and long answers, that the answers are followed up by the interviewer,
that the interpretation and the validation of the understanding is mainly done during the
 International Journal of Research & Method in Education 71

interview and that the interview is a narrative in itself without the need of extra descrip-
tions and explanations. The interview has the character of a dialogue and a cooperative
attitude in the mutual interest of deepening the understanding of the informant’s con-
ceptions. This means that the interviewer and the informant sit beside each other and
focus on the successive construction of the map. In this way, misunderstandings can
be detected more easily. We found that the mapping technique deepened the interview
and yielded results with a high degree of validity. We also saw that it is a method for
data collection that was appreciated by the informants, which contributed to motivate
the informants to take an active part in the interview.

Analysis of cognitive maps

In our research projects, we have taken three steps in our analysis of the cognitive maps.
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In the first step, we used the expressions our informants had about the phenomenon in
focus (learning, teaching, leadership). The next step was to find how the variation of
concepts clustered. In the last step, we studied the relationship between different con-
ceptions and clusters to other variables of interest, such as school results or conditions
for school processes.
We have used cognitive maps to understand the meaning of informant-used con-
cepts, to capture the variation in understandings and to find different patterns among
the maps. The basis for the use of cognitive maps in these ways is found in Lewin’s
(1963) writings about the need in social science to focus more on relationships
between phenomena and not merely describing them. To categorize says little more
than that it is possible to arrange studied elements in a specific way. Miles and Huber-
man (1994) assert, in their studies of school development, that ‘Stories without vari-
ables do not tell us enough about the meaning and larger import of what we are
seeing. Variables without stories are ultimately abstract and unconvincing’ (p. 302).
We have found that analysis of cognitive maps helps to elucidate the connections
between variables.
To be able to use unique individual cognitive maps in quantitative analyses, we used
IHMC (Institute for Human and Machine Cognition) CmapTools to transform the paper
versions of the cognitive maps to digital form. CmapTools (http://cmap.ihmc.us/
conceptmap.html) is a digital software for creating and sharing concept maps, and
for collaborative knowledge building through published concept maps as web pages.
CmapTools can also be used to create a multimedia hypertext from concepts through
links to digital resources, such as documents, pictures, video clips, computer programs,
Internet links etc. It is free of charge. It is also possible to create a cooperative concept
map together from different computers.
A cognitive map can be analysed with regard to its content and/or its structure
regardless of its content. The focus can be on the whole map, the different elements
in the map and/or the interconnectedness between the elements. To be able to make
these analyses, we first created a common system of concepts into which the individual
maps could be transformed. The creation of a common system of concepts can be done
in an inductive or deductive way or as a combination of these two ways.

An inductively created set of common concepts

In a study of distributed leadership (Kristiansson, Scherp, and Fagerström 2008), we
used an inductive way. We studied teachers’ conceptions of what school leadership
 72 H-Å. Scherp

features contribute to school development. One hundred and twelve teachers were inter-
viewed from 21 schools. Teachers were also asked to judge to what extent they per-
ceived that their school leader lived up to the conceptions. This was done by using
dots in three colours that were attached to the different characteristics of leadership
that the teacher had stated as important. Green represented that ideals were put into
action ‘to a great extent’, yellow meant ‘partly’ and red meant ‘to a very little
extent’. Figure 1 exemplifies such a map.
Two of the post-its are marked with 1 and 2 to show that these conceptions were
given priority by the informant. The surrounding text comments are descriptions that
deepen the understanding of the stated conceptions.
The first step was to find similarities among the conceptions phrased on the maps.
The expressions were written down in an Excel document. Each of the explanations
was given a number representing a shared similarity. An Excel excerpt is given in
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Table 1.
The categorization of the maps that 112 teachers produced during the interviews
resulted in 2191 statements that were captured in 42 categories. Each of the 42 simi-
larity clusters was then given a denomination based on the content of the similarity.
These categories constitute the variables for the continued analyses where each variable
was given a value (1 ¼ low importance, 2 ¼ some importance and 3 ¼ important)
depending on how frequent and emphasized it was in the maps. The data were trans-
formed into SPSS and a dendrogram was used to find clusters by analysing interrelat-
edness between the 42 categories. The dendrogram resulted in two composite
leadership variables considered to portray two types of leadership: co-creating and pre-
scribing leadership, respectively.

Figure 1. Cognitive map of school leadership that contributes to school development and how
it is realized in practice.
 International Journal of Research & Method in Education 73

Table 1. Examples of classification of statements.

Statement on the Assigned figure
post-it note Explanatory text linked to the statement based on similarity
Supportive Is interested in my everyday work 16
Supportive Shows interest in how 1 feel as a person 17
Supportive Cares about me 17
Supportive Is interested in my life outside school 17
Supportive Improving conditions for everyday work 18
Supportive Asks what support 1 need 18
Accessible Always an accessible leader at school 24
Accessible If a leader is away, there must be a clear 24
delegation
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Accessible You must always have a possibility to ask the 24

school leader about what actions to take when
problems arise
Accessible Everyday work in school is unpredictable 25
Encouragement Interested in listening to the teachers’ ideas 22
Encouragement Gives freedom to develop on your own 22
Encouragement Opportunities for professional development 22
according to own ideas
Reliance and respect Thinks that the co-workers do a good job 20
Reliance and respect Respects our different professional roles 20

On a scale from 1 to 9, the teachers were also asked to estimate how parents and the
local community valued the quality of their school. The balance between co-creating
leadership and prescribing leadership varied between the maps. It was possible to
compute a value on each type of leadership on the maps and then relate the values to
the teachers’ estimations of the quality of their school.
When teachers perceived that the parents and the local community had a critical
view of their school, they stressed the importance of a prescribing leadership while
teachers perceiving that the local community had a positive view of the quality
emphasized the importance of a co-creating leadership to contribute to school
development.

A deductively created set of common concepts

In another project, we studied students’, teachers’ and school leaders’ understanding
of how to help students to learn and develop in the very best way. The background of
the study was decreasing school results in a city in Sweden. The local governing
board of education decided in 2009 to invest in a research project to inquire into
the thinking that school leaders, teachers and students had about learning and teach-
ing. The results of the study aimed at being used as a basis for new directives given to
the schools.
Fifty interviewers conducted 417 interviews with cognitive maps. One hundred and
fifty-seven school leaders, 174 teachers and 86 groups of pupils were interviewed. Tea-
chers and school leaders were interviewed individually and the pupils in groups of
about five participants. The first step in the mapping procedure followed the same
 74 H-Å. Scherp

procedure described earlier, using post-it notes and large sheets of paper. The next step
was to transform the unique concepts, words and links in the individual maps into a
common system of concepts without losing aspects expressed by the informants that
are important and relevant to the study. The original ‘paper maps’ were transformed
into digital Cmaps and the system of predefined concepts. We have chosen to use differ-
entiation theories and enrichment theories as two points of departure for choosing con-
cepts that illustrate different conceptions about learning (Gibson and Gibson 1955;
Marton and Pang 2006). The choice is based on earlier research projects in which tea-
chers’ statements about learning and teaching have been categorized based on simi-
larities (Scherp and Scherp 2007).
During 2 days, the interviewers were trained to conduct in-depth interviews with
cognitive maps. They also learned about the common system of concepts into
which they transformed the individual map after the interview. Thereby, they
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became aware of the importance of putting clarifying questions to be able to make

a reliable transformation from the unique paper version into the common Cmap
system. The clarifying notions were used to enhance the reliability in the transform-
ation, but were not transformed into the Cmaps. The common concept system was
created in a two-step procedure. First, a number of dimensions often used in earlier
research projects when pupils, teachers and school leaders described their ideas
about learning and teaching were listed. Then, two alternative kinds of conceptions
based on the two theories of learning were given for each dimension. The used dimen-
sions and conceptions are described in Table 2.
For each dimension that the informant used, the interviewer judged which of the
two alternatives best described what the informant had expressed. The chosen con-
ceptions were then used when the digital Cmap was constructed.
To decide which conception was in accordance with the original map, the text
around the post-its and the holistic understanding of the map was used. If a dimension
was not commented on in the original map, none of the conceptions related to that

Table 2. Dimensions related to differentiation and enrichment theories, respectively.

Dimensions on the Conceptions related to Conceptions related to
post-its differentiation theories enrichment theories
Individualization, Relate and adapt to the students’ Relate and adapt to the students’
diagnoses specific thoughts and questions knowledge and maturity level
Group composition
Co-working Teachers plan together with the Teachers plan
Influence students
Motivation Desire to learn Performing, achievement
Driving force
Grades
Tutoring Involving the students in the Dispense knowledge
Inquires knowledge-building
Cooperation Learning in interaction with others Learning individually
Group work
Individualization
Feedback Learning feedback Valuing feedback
 International Journal of Research & Method in Education 75

dimension was used. If the different conceptions related to a dimension were empha-
sized to a similar extent, both were transformed into the digital Cmap.

Content analysis
Irrespective of how the common system of conceptions is constructed, it is possible to
enter data from the Cmaps into an SPSS document. SPSS can then be used to study
interrelatedness between conceptions and also to relate conceptions to other relevant
variables.
Again, we used the dendrogram as described above in the inductive study of what
kind of school leadership contributes to school development. Two of the composite
variables that appeared from the empirical data ran together with the differentiation
and enrichment theories, respectively. After a simple content analysis, we found that
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the differentiation theories of learning dominated among teachers and school leaders.
Sixty-three per cent of teacher statements and 66% of school leader statements were
classified as related to differentiation theories. We also found differences between
the conceptions among schools with different socioeconomic status. The differentiation
theories were more emphasized in schools with low socioeconomic status (66%) com-
pared with schools with medium (55%) or high socioeconomic status (54%).
In our third analytic step, we were interested in whether there was some correlation
between the pattern of conceptions at a school and the school results in terms of grades
in year 9. The correlation between the conceptions aligned with differentiation theories
and marks was 20.35 in the high socioeconomic group of schools, 0.23 in the medium
group and 0.78 in the low socioeconomic group of schools.
Having calculated means for each school in the study, it is also possible to use hier-
archical cluster analysis to find and group schools with similar pedagogical ideas and
relate the groups to different background variables or results. One shortcoming of
this is that this kind of analysis does not capture the essence or character of the inter-
connectedness between statements on each individual map. It just shows how often
different conceptions occur on the Cmaps. However, we found a way to make use of
whole stated propositions in the individual maps (Kristiansson, Scherp, and Fagerström
2008). A proposition consists of two concepts and the link between them.

Links between concepts

Even if the concepts on two different cognitive maps are the same, they may differ in
the way the informant has related the concepts to each other, which implies different
understandings of a phenomenon. Different patterns of interconnectedness between
concepts reflect different understandings. To get a more reliable base and deepen the
analysis, we need to take stated interconnectedness between the concepts on each
map into consideration. In CmapTools, it is possible to translate concepts and prop-
ositions into text that can be used in Excel and SPSS for further analyses. It is possible
to find out how common different expressed propositions are and whether there are
differences in propositions that depend on different background variables such as the
socioeconomic status of the school. Clustering and dendrograms can be used to find
patterns among stated propositions as well as among concepts.
To examine these relations, we created an aggregated Cmap that contained all indi-
vidual Cmaps. As we wanted to study whether or not there were differences between
conceptions of learning and teaching in schools with high, medium or low
 76 H-Å. Scherp

socioeconomic status, we also aggregated the maps separately in these groups. We

found that the number of different propositions differed between schools situated in
areas with different socioeconomic status, which indicates that varied contexts result
in different conclusions about learning and teaching.

Structural analysis
It is also possible to analyse cognitive maps irrespective of the content. Kinchin, Hay,
and Adams (2000) found three basic types of map structures denoted as ‘spoke’, ‘chain’
and ‘net’ when reviewing reproduction in plants with a group of year 8 pupils. Spoke is
a radial structure in which all nodes are connected to a core node, but are not directly
linked to each other. Chain is a linear sequence of nodes in which each node is only
linked to those immediately below or above it. Net is a highly integrated network of
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connections.
Pearson and Somekh (2003) investigated children’s representations of ICT and
found five different basic types of structures. Unconnected maps contained nodes
without links, linear maps where each node is linked only to its predecessor and suc-
cessor, one-centred maps with a central node from which links to other nodes radiate
outward, several-centred maps where two or more nodes are centres of interest and spa-
ghetti maps in which the linkage between nodes was so intense that the map resembled
a plate of spaghetti.
The number of concepts and propositions in a cognitive map is in itself an indication
of a more or less developed understanding. Sandberg (1994), in a study of motor opti-
mizers in a car industry, as well as Scherp and Scherp (2007), in a study of teachers and
school leaders, found three different ways in which the co-workers described their
understanding of their mission. The three different concept structures can be referred
to as:

. fragmented structure, where the map consists of a number of independent con-

cepts without links;
. interaction structure, where the map consists of concepts related to each other by
links;
. holistic structure, where a core concept or group of concepts gives meaning and
guidance to the parts and the interaction between them.

Sandberg (1994) found that the motor optimizers perceived by their co-workers to
be the best motor optimizers had a holistic understanding of their mission. These
empirical findings together with Lewin’s (1963) and Abric’s (2001) theoretical contri-
butions describe a structural progression, where the fragmented structure is the least
developed and the holistic structure the most developed understanding. The degree
of connection between concepts in the map is itself an indication of quality, where
more links are seen as an indication of progress (Lewin 1963; Sandberg 1994; Abric
2001).
The number of links per concept is a measure that together with the number of con-
cepts on the map reflects Lewin’s criteria of a holistic idea. More links per concept indi-
cate a more developed idea. Aligned with Abric’s conclusions, another qualitative
measure is the existence of a core in the holistic idea, which is indicated by a
concept or a set of concepts with many links. We calculated the mean number of con-
cepts and links on the maps by using CmapTools on aggregated Cmaps.
 International Journal of Research & Method in Education 77

In the project where we studied students’, teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions
of how to contribute to students’ learning, we examined these structural qualities in
schools with different socioeconomic status by calculating the mean number of con-
cepts per map, mean number of links per concept and also mean number of links
between concepts related to a centrally formulated holistic pedagogical idea. This hol-
istic idea consisted of emphasizing intrinsic motivation, students as co-creators in the
learning process working with meaning-making learning issues. Some of the results
are shown in Table 3.
The mean number of links between concepts in the cognitive maps at schools in
areas with low socioeconomic status is lower than in schools with high or medium
socioeconomic status, which indicates less developed ideas about learning and teaching
in these schools compared with the others. The number of links to concepts correspond-
ing to the centrally formulated holistic idea is, on the other hand, relatively higher in the
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schools with low socioeconomic status, which indicates that the centrally formulated
ideas are more central in these schools. In this analysis, we combine the structural
analysis with the content analysis.
Fox et al. (2007) in a similar way, but without using digital tools, used number of
nodes, links and centrality of nodes to capture perceptions of school networks based on
48 maps drawn by practitioners.
We also found that the mean number of concepts and links per concept were con-
sistently higher at secondary schools compared with preschools and primary schools,
which indicates more developed ideas about learning and teaching in the secondary
schools. This does not mean, however, that the understanding in their schools is
aligned with the centrally formulated pedagogical idea. In secondary schools, in
areas with high or medium socioeconomic status, the relative number of links
between concepts related to the holistic idea is lower than in the primary schools in
the same socioeconomic areas. Secondary schools in areas with low socioeconomic
status differ from this pattern.
From a learning community perspective on school development (Stoll and Seashore
Louis 2007; Timperley et al. 2007), teachers and school leaders are expected to be main
actors in the knowledge-building process about learning and teaching. In order to
develop into professional teachers, teachers need to build well-organized systems of
conceptions about learning and teaching. Clarifying and visualizing pre-existing

Table 3. Mean number of concepts and links related to school with different socioeconomic
status.
Mean number of Mean number Mean number of links between
concepts per of links per concepts constituting the holistic
map concept pedagogical idea of the school
High 10.8 8.1 1.9
socioeconomic
status
Medium 13.2 10.9 2.2
socioeconomic
status
Low 12.7 6.5 3.6
socioeconomic
status
 78 H-Å. Scherp

conceptions is a point of departure for new learning processes on an individual as well

as on a group and organizational level.
One of the lessons learned from this case exemplifying the use of qualitative data in
both qualitative and quantitative analyses was that the understanding of intrinsic motiv-
ation in relation to achievement differed between schools with different socioeconomic
status. A combination of the structural and the content analysis of the Cmaps showed
that the links between the concepts ‘lust lo learn’ and ‘achievement’ were more frequent
in the maps from the schools with low socioeconomic status compared with schools
with high socioeconomic status. This generated a hypothesis that the work based on
the students’ intrinsic motivation was seen as a way to relax from a more traditional
way of teaching and learning in schools with high socioeconomic status while the
intrinsic motivation was seen as a prime driving force for good achievements in the
schools with low socioeconomic status. Students in schools with low socioeconomic
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status seem to be more dependent on learning issues having personal relevance. The
conclusion among school leaders and directors of education was to start a school devel-
opment process to find out how instructional patterns based on the students’ intrinsic
motivation could be improved in the schools with high socioeconomic status. One
hypothesis from the analysis was that the instructional pattern might need to reach
and overcome a critical lowest level to contribute to better results. If this critical
level is not reached, ways of working based on intrinsic motivation will be confusing
and seen as an impediment to the more dominating instructional pattern having external
motivation as a point of departure.

Discussion
Cognitive mapping is a valuable and reliable tool both in connection with school devel-
opment and research. From a learning perspective on school development, the variation
in conceptions of learning and teaching is important for co-workers’ deepened learning
as a basis for creating next practice. The maps of conceptions visualize similarities and
differences in the co-workers’ conceptions that can be the foundation of their learning
process and the starting point for creating a meaning-making common holistic pedago-
gical idea that can guide everyday practice.
Peoples’ ideas and understanding of phenomena differ in structural quality as well
as in content quality, which both can be studied by using cognitive maps. The quality of
an understanding can be described by its position in a coordinate system with content
quality and structural quality as the axes. Structural quality is estimated by the number
of concepts, the number of links and the existence of core concepts on the map. Content
quality is estimated by relating the content of the concepts on the map to research and
proven experience within the field. In school development and in the facilitation
of learning processes, different measures are needed for success depending upon the
qualities of pre-existing conceptions.
After using cognitive maps in longitudinal studies, we note that the maps are fairly
stable over time and merely peripherally influenced by specific events close in time to
mapping. When we interviewed the same teachers and school leaders after 4 years and
compared the new maps with those from the first year (Scherp and Scherp 2007), the
conformity was more striking than the deviations. The cognitive maps seem to catch
cores in the mental landscape that are manifestations of identity and group belongings.
According to Abric (2001), elements in the outer layers constitute the interface
between the central core and the concrete situation in which the representation
 International Journal of Research & Method in Education 79

elaborates or realizes itself. The elements have three main functions; making concrete,
adaptation and defence.
According to Festinger (1957), Newcomb (1953), Heider (1958) and Moscovici
(2001), changes occur as a result of dissonances in the mental landscape or between
the prevailing conceptions and new information. ‘Unbalanced situations stimulate
humans to further thinking as they have the character of interesting puzzles or problems
which make us suspect a depth of interesting background’ (Heider 1958, p. 180). The
cognitive map is a useful tool to follow changes in conceptions and to find or create
dissonances that can be the starting point in a change process.
Even though the cognitive mapping has advantages as a research tool, it also has
some weaknesses that need to be considered. Like geographical maps, cognitive
maps provide a simplified image of something larger and more complex. A cognitive
map does not capture the complete conception. According to our experiences, the
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mapping technique primarily captures or reflects conceptions that the informant finds
more central, important or more puzzling than aspects that the informant finds self-
evident or natural. To reduce this shortcoming, it is important that the interviewer
uses probing questions during the mapping process.
When cognitive maps are constructed in an interview situation, it is obvious that the
map is sensitive to the interplay between the interviewer and the informant, but we have
also, in a longitudinal study, noted the stability in the maps constructed by a teacher
although there was a change of the interviewer between the first and the second inter-
view. In our studies, we have found the reliability of the links to be less than the
reliability of the concepts. If the interviewer asks for more links, the informant can
feel a pressure to state links that he has not thought of. On the other hand, if the inter-
viewer does not ask for links, this possibility may not come to the informant’s mind
although he does have ideas about more links. Although the stability of cognitive
maps over time and with different interviewers indicates limited interviewer effect,
one of the problems with the dialogic conceptual mapping is that the clarifying ques-
tions posed by the interviewer influence the construction of the map. By posing
more clarifying questions about certain concepts, these concepts might appear as
more central in the map than they are as the informant talks more about that concept
as a result of the probing questions, and the same goes for the number of links con-
nected to a concept. The more questions posed about a concept, the higher the prob-
ability that the informant links the concept to other concepts. This might be
misleading in the analysis of a map as the centrality of a concept is dependent on
how frequently a concept is mentioned and related to other concepts.
It is tempting for the interviewer to ask more questions on concepts that she or he
thinks important, and it is sometimes necessary to pose more clarifying questions
related to certain concepts as they are more difficult to understand or capture. To
strive for an even number of probing questions and to ask the respondent at the end
of the interview to make a judgement of the importance of different parts in the map
are two ways to reduce the influence of the interviewer. It is also important that the
interviewer himself make the transformation and first analysis of the original concep-
tual map as soon as possible after the interview.
Another way to reduce the interviewer effect is to use a more fine-grained scale
when transferring the conceptual map to Excel values. In the cases used in the article
to exemplify how to quantify qualitative data, we used 0 or 1 to show whether or
not a specific concept in the concept system dominated or not. In later research projects,
we have used 10 points to be distributed between the two, or sometimes three or more,
 80 H-Å. Scherp

different concepts used to describe different ways to understand or perceive a dimen-

sion. In this way, we reduce the consequences of a misjudgement to nuances in a
scale from 1 to 10 instead of either 0 or 1.
To use in-depth interviews that need to be transcribed as a basis for analysis is very
time consuming and necessitates that very few interviews are conducted, which makes
it harder to generalize. Larsson (2009) argues that the problem of generalization cannot
be neglected in qualitative studies either, but he claims that a more pluralistic view of
generalization in qualitative research is needed compared with quantitative research. He
argues that generalization in qualitative research can be done by maximizing variation
in cases used in the study, by context similarity and through recognition of patterns.
In quantitative studies, it is common to inquire into patterns and connectedness of
concepts by using regression analysis, analysis of covariance, factor analysis and
cluster analysis. In this way, it is possible to discern interconnections among dimen-
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sions and factors in a large group. CmapTools makes it easier to use propositions in
individual cognitive maps to identify patterns and connectedness in substantial data
material without losing the features of the individual respondents’ linkage of concepts.
Quantitative methods such as surveys often suffer from lack of depth and difficulties in
knowing how the respondent has perceived the items. Working with cognitive maps
makes it possible to combine the advantages of qualitative and quantitative methods.
It is a way of using quantitative analysis based on in-depths interviews in a big
sample. In our work, we have shown that cognitive maps are valuable research tools
in educational research which can be used to integrate qualitative and quantitative
methods for analyses.

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