Editing Concept map (section)

{{short description|Diagram showing relationships among concepts}}
{{for|concept maps in [[generic programming]]|Concept (generic programming)}}
{{redirect|Bubble map|the type of thematic map|Proportional symbol map}}
[[File:Electricity Concept Map.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|An example of a concept map about [[electricity]]]]
{{InfoMaps}}
A '''concept map''' or '''conceptual diagram''' is a [[diagram]] that depicts suggested relationships between [[concept]]s.<ref>Peter J. Hager, Nancy C. Corbin. ''Designing & Delivering: Scientific, Technical, and Managerial Presentations,'' 1997, p.&nbsp;163.</ref> Concept maps may be used by [[instructional designer]]s, [[engineer]]s, [[Technical communication|technical writers]], and others to organize and structure [[knowledge]].

A concept map typically represents ideas and information as boxes or circles, which it connects with labeled arrows, often in a downward-branching hierarchical structure but also in [[wikt:free-form|free-form]] maps.<ref name=Lanzing/><ref name=RomanceVitale1999/> The relationship between concepts can be articulated in ''[[Transition (linguistics)|linking phrases]]'' such as "causes", "requires", "such as" or "contributes to".<ref name=theory>{{cite tech report |last1=Novak |first1=Joseph D. |last2=Cañas |first2=Alberto J. |date=2008 |title=The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them |number=2006-01 Rev 2008-01 |location=Pensacola, FL |institution=[[Institute for Human and Machine Cognition]] |url=http://cmap.ihmc.us/docs/theory-of-concept-maps.php |access-date=24 November 2008}}</ref>

The technique for [[Visualization (graphic)|visualizing]] these relationships among different concepts is called ''concept mapping''. Concept maps have been used to define the [[Ontology (information science)|ontology]] of computer systems, for example with the [[object-role modeling]] or [[Unified Modeling Language]] formalism.