CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAMS

1. Main idea

1.1. systematic depiction of an abstract concept

2. Form

2.1. pre-defined category boxes

2.1.1. should embed text

2.1.2. each should be labelled

2.1.3. arrows to specify relations

2.1.4. bigger importance-bigger size

2.1.5. icons (if needed)

3. Main functions

3.1. topic analysis

3.2. situation analysis

3.3. knowledge communication

3.4. joint knowledge construction

4. Typical application context

4.1. slide presentations

4.2. text illustration

4.3. management discussions

5. Advantages of use

5.1. concise overview

5.2. systamatic structurization

5.3. main aspects considered

5.4. various situations - same manner of application

6. Disadvantages of use

6.1. category meanings knowledge required

6.2. not applicable to all topics

6.3. no mnemonic help

6.4. lack of creativity/self-expression

6.5. low to medium memorability

7. Examples

7.1. Aristotle’s square of oppositions

7.2. Stephen Toulmin’s argumentation diagram,

7.3. Ishikawa’s 5M diagram,