Combining Conceptual Frameworks on Maternal Health in Indigenous Communities—Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping Using Participant and Operator-independent Weighting

Abstract

A recurring issue in intercultural research is whose knowledge informs conceptualization and design of projects or interventions. Fuzzy cognitive mapping uses arrows and weights to represent stakeholder knowledge on causal relationships and can generate composite theories to inform research and action. Cognitive mapping is accessible across different cultures, but participant weighting is not always straightforward. We describe a procedure to combine and condense maps from different stakeholders and an alternative operator-independent weighting procedure adapted from Harris’s discourse analysis.