City of Ithaca
Chief of Police Search Process

Labeled Category Map

This map shows the final nine categories of characteristics in relation to each other, with a short label that the Screening Committee created to describe each Category. You can click on any cluster to see the characteristics that fall within the cluster. The map was produced through the concept mapping analysis of grouping data from community participants.

Clusters that are closer to each other on the map are more similar (as sorted or grouped by community participants). Clusters that are farther apart are less similar. The only interpretable feature of this map is the distance between clusters -- clusters placed near the top of the map are not more important or more meaningful than clusters placed near the bottom. The map could be flipped horizontally or vertically, or rotated by any amount and the clusters would still stay in the same positions relative to each other. Therefore, distance between or proximity of clusters are the only interpretable aspects of the map.

In addition, the size of the cluster only indicates how broad or specific the category is -- it does not indicate how important the category is or how many characteristics it contains. For instance, the category Personable is one of the smallest because the statements within it "hang together" in meaning very tightly -- they are very similar. In contrast, you should see that the statements within the category Community Issue Oriented cover a wider scope of meaning and content.

This map was used as the basis for the final Community Process Results Figure which shows the same nine categories arranged in approximately the same location as in this figure, but is a slightly more "stylized" and less technical portrayal of the results and would probably be more understandable to the general public.


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This project is sponsored in part by:
Concept Systems Incorporated
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Ithaca NY 14850
(607) 272-1206
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E-mail: concepthelp@conceptsystems.com
Website: Concept Systems Incorporated Website
Copyright © 1996, William M.K. Trochim