Concept Maps in Nursing Education: A Historical Literature Review and Research Directions

BACKGROUND: Although concept mapping was created in the early 1980s, research in nursing education first appeared in 1992. This literature review analyzes the impact of concept mapping in nursing education. METHOD: A total of 221 articles, books, and book chapters were reviewed on the topic of concept mapping in nursing education. RESULTS: Results indicate that concept-mapping research progressed from the emergence state, to an expansion and adaptation stage, to an established stage. CONCLUSION: Nursing education could benefit from further research on applying concept map scoring formulas, using concept maps with simulation, developing knowledge models, and creating concept map-centered learning environments. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(11):631-639.].