Concept Maps

Visual road maps that depict known or suggested relationships between ideas.

Idea/inforelationship examples

Dairy products

Meat/Fish

Fruits/Veges

Idea/info

REQUIRECAUSE

CONTRIBUTES

Forexample

Downward-branching hierarchical structureMessy

Interactions & Feedbacks

Too detailed

That’s okay!

1. Hone in on your scientific question

2. Provide context for your scientific question, and organize and structure your Introduction

3. Develop hypotheses to test

4. Determine methodology required to test hypotheses

Concept Maps can help you:

You have a question

You need broad context

You need a question

You have a broad interest

HABITATAMAZONIAN RAINFOREST

Birds

Arthropods

Mammals ?+/-

AMAZONIAN RAINFORESTS

give criti

cal t

o

1. Honing in on your scientific question

Olinguito!!!

such as

+

-

???

2. Honing in on your scientific question(another approach)

(taken from Myers-Smith et al. 2011)

Arctic tundra is becoming Shrubbier!

Arctic tundra is becoming shrubbier!

2. Providing context for your scientific question(for your Introduction)

Does the presence of caribou inhibit/promote

shrub dominance in Arctic tundra?

Who cares ?(start reading!)

Does the presence of caribou inhibit/promoteshrub dominance in Arctic tundra?

Climate Forcing!

Caribou are the main large herbivore in northern Alaska

Trample Forage Fertilize

impacts

+/- ?causing

Arctic climate warming fast

Abiotic & biotic responses are acute

thermokarst fire regimes growing season length

veg productivity woody shrub dominance

energy balance carbon sink/source alters wildlife habitat

nutrient cycling thaw depth snow distribution

for example

which impactscontribute to

Feeds back to

Shrub dominance

understory vegetation

damage

shrub branches

shrub species

forage

understory species

Increase nutrient availability for

all species

fertilize

3. Development of Hypotheses

4. Determine Methods

+/- ?

Try it with others !

• formulate questions• clarify system boundaries • identify gaps in existing data• Reveal thoughts and assumptions• Combine knowledge from different expertise

Your turn !