Topic Maps

We believe that topic maps represent a simple and potentially participatory way of organising resources and of first discussing and then displaying the relationships between them.

So far, we have worked on two maps. The first came from the topics covered by the IKM Emergent Programme.  It was originally displayed in HyperGraph (an open source project working in Java) but this ceased to be supported. We have now developed a version to work in Drupal 8.  The actual content of the map and the links between them are currently little more than initial sketches. It is intended to update and improve this Topic Map and the underlying resources it contains as part of the bibliography for our forthcoming book 'Challenging Ignorance'.

The second comes out of work done for the Wellcome Trust which aimed to scope and locate relevant resources for the study of research engagement. This is a good example of the value of such mapping as the term 'engagement' is understood differently by those using it it different sectors and there are others who undertake what could be seen as engagement, and whose work is therefore relevant to the field, but themselves use different terms to describe what they are doing. This is a more fully worked up map than the first but could be developed further by trying to show the importance of certain processes and relationships to the development of the field.