Exploring the use of the personal meaning mapping method in dress and textiles scholarship

Abstract

<p>Gaimster (2011) acknowledges mind mapping as a useful technique for brainstorming ideas about a research problem in fashion scholarship. Recent literature has provided evidence that variations of mind mapping (see Buzan, 2003) and concept mapping can also be used as a research method. Personal Meaning Mapping (PMM) is a recently developed data collection technique “designed to measure how a specific learning experience uniquely affects each individual’s understanding or meaning-making process” (Adams, Falk, & Dierking, 2003, p. 22). The purpose of this paper is to share my introductory use of the PMM method in dress and textiles scholarship and explore other options for its application. I used the PMM method as a data collection tool to investigate the role of dress artifacts and displays in learning about a historic event (in this case, Titanic) in museums.</p>