LifeMap User Manual

It is possible to make a rough analogy between the physical world and the world of concept maps. In the physical world, the basic building blocks of matter are atoms. Atoms can be built up into larger structures, such as molecules. Atoms can also be broken down into their component parts, such as electrons and protons. In concept maps, the equivalent of the atom is the proposition. Propositions can be built up into larger structures, such as chunks and complete maps. Propositions can also be broken down into their component parts, such as concepts (and linking words) and links. Prior to version 4.0, LifeMap worked mostly at the "sub-atomic" level of concept mapping. You could manipulate concepts, linking words, and links, but you could not manipulate propositions as such.

This tutorial introduces you to a new set of features which works directly on propositions. These new features will give you a new level of power, both in creating concept maps, and in analysing concept maps. This tutorial will teach you how to create a proposition database, how to input propositions into the database, how to output propositions from the database to a concept map, and how to extract propositions from a concept map (which can then be inputed into a proposition database).

Figure 55: Diagram of main Proposition related features.

All of the Proposition level features can be found in a menu called "Database" (Figure 56).

Figure 56. The Database menu.

To start, choose "Create Proposition Database File..." A dialog box will appear in which you can name your new Proposition Database file. The letters "PD-" will automatically be added to the start of whatever name you enter.

Figure 57: Save Proposition Database dialog box

You will then see a window which looks like Figure 58.

Figure 58: Proposition Database window

You have now created a Proposition Database. You are now ready to add some propositions to the database.

If the Proposition Database you created in the previous step is open, you are ready to go. If you closed the Proposition Database, choose "Open Proposition Database" from the "Database" menu.

The Proposition Database stores concept map data as a series of independent propositions. Each proposition must have two concepts connected by a linking word for the program to work. You should usually avoid leaving any of the three elements of the proposition blank, unless you want placeholders inserted when you generate concept maps. The database also stores three attributes for each proposition. These may be left blank if desired.

The Propositions window has two buttons on it. One creates a new proposition. The other cuts the proposition you are currently viewing.

Figure 59. The Propositions window.

To create a new proposition, click "New Proposition" and then enter in the elements and attributes of your proposition.

You can create propositions one at a time, but if you are trying to build a large database, you may not want to do it that way. Instead, try opening "Open Input Window..." from the Database menu. You will see the Input window shown in Figure 60.

Figure 60. The Input window.

The Input window allows you to enter proposition information in the BasicTriple format. The BasicTriple format looks like this:

StartConcept,LinkingWord,EndConcept

In other words, you need three items separated by commas. The attribute information will be assigned to all of the propositions you create when you click "Add Propositions to Database".

To create a concept map, choose "Open Output Window..." from the Database Menu. You will see the Output window that is shown in Figure 61.

Figure 61. The Output window.

If you want a concept map that uses all of the propositions contained in the Proposition Database, leave all three attribute options unchecked. If you want to restrict the concept map you produce, enter some information into the attribute fields, and then check the appropriate attribute check button(s). For instance, the settings shown in Figure 61 would produce a concept map using only those propositions whose theme has been defined as "Marine".

When you click "Output to NetData format and create concept map", your map will be produced. It will look like a jumbled mess, but it will all be there. It will look like a mess because the Proposition Database doesn't contain position information for the concepts. The concept map you have created from the database is data you can explore. One good way to start this exploration is to choose "View Current Map in Standard Hierarchy" from the Special menu. This will allow you to choose a concept that you want placed at the top of the map. All of the other concepts will be positioned based upon their relationship to that chosen concept.

You should keep in mind that the exact look of the outputed concept map depends upon several other parts of LifeMap. Specifically, the Outputed information is sent to the NetData Utility, which processes it, and sends it on to the PropositionMaker. The PropositionMaker then calls upon ConceptMaker and LinkMaker to create the actual concept map.

At a minimum, you need to make sure that you have set PropositionMaker and ConceptMaker correctly. We recommend that PropositionMaker be set so that it reads as shown in Figure 62: "Use Arrowheads" and "Create new linkword even if it already exists" and the direction arrow should point down. You can play with the other two options, but LifeMap will automatically make sure that the direction arrow is pointing down. If it were pointing up, all of your propositions would go in the wrong direction.

The main thing to set in ConceptMaker is the style of text you want newly created concepts to have.

Figure 62. PropositionMaker with recommended settings for use with the Output window.

To generate a list of the propositions contained in any concept map, choose "Create Proposition Report" from the "Database" menu.

For the purpose of demonstrating this feature, we have created the following concept map.

Figure 63: Rather random concept map

After a few moments, the report window will open with the following information.

Figure 64: Proposition Report

This report is generated according to several rules.

First, propositions must start with a concept. A concept is defined (for the purpose of this report) as any concept object which has a border of any size (i.e. not 0), or which has a fancy border associated with it. Thus, a linking word is defined as any concept object which has no border, and which has no associated fancy border.

Second, the report analyses drawn links only. A set of links is counted as a proposition if the destination concept of the first link matches with the origin concept of the second link. It doesn't matter whether the second and third concept objects in the proposition are concepts or linking words (i.e. whether they have a border or not). The presence or absence of arrowheads also does not affect the report.

Third, once the report has found all of the valid propositions, it checks the complete list of links against the list of propositions. Any links which are not contained in the list of propositions are reported as proposition fragments.

If you wish, you can now copy the list of propositions generated in the above report, and paste them into the Input Window in order to add the propositions (extracted from your concept map) into a proposition database (either the one you started with or a different database).

To create a collaborative concept map, have each person in your group generate their own map first. They can do this either by creating a map directly, or they can type up a list of propositions.

Next, enter each list of propositions into one proposition database. Make sure that you set the attributes in the Input Window so that you can distinguish between the different authors.

Finally, use the Output Window to generate a composite concept map.

If you start doing a lot of collaborative concept mapping, you will probably want more polished and flexible output options. Contact us and we will see what we can do.

LifeMap supports multiple Proposition Database files, but you can only have one of these files active at a time. To switch from one Proposition Database file to another, just choose "Open Proposition Database".

The menu item "Set Proposition Window to Standard Style" was added because in LifeMap Version 3.9.8.4, the output process would fail at a point which left the Proposition Window in the Palette style. We are quite confident that this problem has been fixed, but we have left the menu item in just in case.

PropositionMaker currently can not handle concepts with the special characters in them (comma, semi-colon, colon, return, and underscore). PropositionMaker used to return an error when these characters were used. PropositionMaker has been modified so that it replaces these special characters (they are special because LifeMap uses them in data handling) with their equivalents. Thus, if you use these special characters in a Proposition Database, the result may be a little unexpected (for instance "×" is substituted for returns), but it will work. You can always replace the substituted characters for the special characters by opening up the concepts in ConceptMaker and changing them.