August 22, 2022 (Updated May 18th, 2023)
Back Up Your Creativity With Mind Map Bibliographies
It’s all too easy to get carried away when mind mapping your ideas, especially if you’re the inspired type. One single bit of knowledge can so often be a catalyst, a spinning wheel of inspiration, sending you off in any number of directions. For the creatives out there, connecting dots and making links out of anything are second nature, but others can sometimes remain cautious of what they would view as outlandish suggestions.
Here at Ayoa we always back creativity, so to counter any naysayers, we’ve added the ability to introduce references to your mind maps – a certified way to prove that your ideas have substance.
Stand on the shoulders of giants
Everything which is ushered into this world as “new” inevitably spawned from something which came before. No matter whether it’s scientists like Francis and Crick making DNA breakthroughs thanks to Rosalind Franklin’s work on X-ray crystallography, designers like Isis Shiffer creating recyclable cardboard bike helmets having been inspired by bees’ honeycomb in nature, or authors of ekphrastic literature responding to painted art, progress never comes out of nowhere, it is always made with the help of what came before.
In creative fields this simple fact isn’t seen as a dilution of individual brilliance, instead it is accepted as a necessity. After all, innovation is always maximised through collaboration. Despite collaboration often being viewed as something which must take place in person, it in fact can be classed as occurring any time one person interacts with the work of another.
Traditionally this would be via books but other various mediums now exist too for existing knowledge to be shared, from journals to podcasts and videos. For their ability to spark new knowledge alone, every source should always be credited, and now they can in a format which stimulates building connections and creativity thanks to Ayoa’s mind map bibliography builder.
Add substance to your work
No matter what work you engage with, and no matter how you go about it (even if it is in the free-flowing way of mind mapping), people are always going to expect you to offer evidence to support your arguments, theses or ideas. Fortunately, this need not be time consuming, nor distract from your main objective, as referencing in Ayoa’s mind maps can now be achieved in a few clicks.
Drawing references from the vast libraries of Google Books, Open Library and more, find out how this addition can help you reach new levels with your mind maps.
Essays for students
Writing an essay is the apex of every student’s term. For those doing a dissertation, it’s the conclusion of a whole year’s work. All the lectures and seminars they’ve attended plus extra hours they’ve spent studying, all comes together to culminate in an essay.
Having been inspired by their learning, remembering to add in references as their style guide demands, is the last thing students need when their ideas are in full flow as they produce their essays. Mind maps get student brains into an environment as far away as possible from the rigid black & white world of style guides, so that thoughts can be expressed freely. Mind maps which can add references for you in a few simple clicks and be exported into Word documents though, go a step further – they mean students face no interruptions from their essay production and are assisted with the sometimes tricky, detail-heavy creation of bibliographies and references.
Reports for professionals
Some professionals might hope that once they’ve graduated they will no longer be required to reference their work like they did in essays. However, when reporting to managers and stakeholders of their company, backing up their projections with solid evidence is arguably more important than during their time at university given that it could impact budgets or even whole directions of organisations.
For professionals wishing to present their business ideas in a way which engages their colleagues as much as it is saturated in evidence, a combination of Ayoa’s presentation mode and bibliography builder is a powerful force.
Presenting evidence for researchers
Those engaged in research undoubtedly have respect for referencing. As producers of knowledge which they hope will inform others in their own pursuits, they appreciate the importance of crediting fellow nuggets of information.
With mind maps literally offering a visual way to document the steps taken for their own research to be gathered, and Ayoa’s mind maps now providing the addition of seamlessly adding citations, the format of a mind map just became the best friend for researchers wishing to illustrate the entirety of their actions.
Just like energy, knowledge is constantly on the move, being absorbed, used and shared with others all the time. Welcome existing knowledge into your mind maps with Ayoa Ultimate’s bibliography builder by signing up today so you can create and propel new knowledge of your own back out into the world.
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Ross McGee
Ross studied English Literature at Cardiff University, enjoying the rich diversity of perspectives and experiences which texts presented to be analysed. Graduation took him into a marketing role where consideration of various interpretations and drivers could be continued. Today his interest in understanding different standpoints has turned into a passion for supporting neurodiversity - a catalyst for alternative, creative thinking and societal breakthroughs.