Mind mapping is a tool for visually displaying information and the relationship between the information. The process of creating a mind map can help the research process and the mind map diagram then forms part of your research documentation.
Mind mapping can be used in family history to:
- clarify research questions
- analyse sources, information and evidence
- develop research leads, and
- evaluate conclusions.
What is mind mapping?
Mind mapping is a method of generating ideas from a central theme or idea. That central theme or idea is placed in the centre of the page and you work out from that point in all directions to create a diagram of related ideas, keywords, information and questions.
Note:
The examples in this post were created using an online mind mapping tool for clarity, but I recommend you try pen and paper as it makes the ideas flow more naturally.
Why use mind mapping?
Solving research problems is not just about gathering more sources. You need to improve your research process through more detailed analysis.
Mind mapping helps you expand your thought processes and generate more ideas. Generating more ideas is central to problem solving.
More sources
To get the best research outcome, you need to conduct a reasonably exhaustive search.
Mind mapping helps you conduct a reasonably exhaustive search by expanding your list of sources and encouraging you to examine different versions of a source from different repositories.
More analysis
Before conducting more research, you need to analyse your existing information and your research question. This helps you establish a ‘solid foundation’.
Mind mapping can be used to:
- question the interpretation of sources you already have and the information and evidence they provide
- look for inconsistencies
- assess the reliability of sources and information
- examine your assumptions and document them clearly
- generate hypotheses to test.
For more information about how to use mind mapping in family history, go to Chapters 2 and 4 of my book, The Good Genealogist.
Post last updated 4 June 2024
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