In short: a useful way of documenting how your research interests change over time.
Why concept map your research interests?
Something I have realized in my doctoral program work is that some of my interests come and go. One semester I will be focused on one things because of an experience I had or a class I took, and another I will drift away from those interests because of other outside influences in my life.
As a result, one of the most helpful tools for me has been concept mapping at the end of every semester (summer, fall, spring). This also serves as a way of reflecting on and documenting what might be driving those shifts, and how the development of your interests over the last few months still centers around a specific broader topic.
In our third year we have to write a field statement which is a statement of where you are situating yourself/your work in respect to the broader field (this prepares you to write your dissertation proposal). For me the best way of thinking about this comes from Emmerich Davies, who explained this as "the hole in the field you will drive your bus through." I have come to think of concept mapping as a way of starting to map out mini roads towards that central topic that will be my dissertation research*.
How do I do it?
There are many ways to concept map. I tend to use both visuals drawn on paper as well as concept maps in typed form in google docs because I want them all written up in one place so I can easily compare them and access them over time. The central components of what I include come from the homework assignment that made me start to do this the first time.
What specifically do I include in my concept maps?
These are the central components I include in my typed up concept maps:
1. Opening Reflection - reflection on where my interests are currently at, thoughts about why, thoughts about how my interests have evolved over the semester and why, and how I see these interests as related (or not) to my past concept maps. More recently I have started to add a section at the end of the opening reflection with a long term goal(s) and things I need to do in the short and longer term to get there.
2. Key Researchers - list of researchers who are key to the small part of whatever fields you are situating yourself in/bringing together. As someone whose research and interests come from multiple fields, I find it helpful to put names and in parentheses what part of my work they focus on, because six months to a year later I might forget.
3. Key Articles - a list of a few key articles that are foundational for your research interest as described in the opening reflection. Likely this will have some overlaps with the key researcher section, but that has not always been the case for me.
4. Key Journals - a list of key journals you might be able to publish your work in. I keep adding to this list over time and delete ones I know I won't publish in. This is also a way of seeing how your research interests have changed over time because the journal content and aim sometimes changes.
5. (Optional) Organizations - sometimes included if relevant, a list of organizations doing the kind of work you might want to do or that you might hope to partner with in some way.
6. (Optional) Regional Focus - helpful if you are doing anything comparative, domestically or internationally.
7. Major Unanswered Questions - a list of a few questions that remain unanswered in the field you've been writing about for this concept map. Helpful down the line for thinking about research questions that need answering for framing studies.
*If someone can come up with a more generative analogy than paving roads through your research, open to ideas.