01 / UNDERSTAND
What is affinity mapping?
Affinity mapping groups notes by meaningful relationships so a team can examine patterns. In research synthesis, each note should remain connected to the account or observation it came from. A cluster is an interpretation, not a finding simply because it has a label. The method can also organise ideas, but keep ideas separate from research evidence.
Why use Affinity Mapping?
A wall of notes can preserve detail while hiding the questions that matter. Grouping makes similarities and differences easier to discuss. It gives people a shared way to challenge an interpretation and return to the original accounts. The finished arrangement should support a decision or a next research question, rather than merely look orderly.
When to use it
USE IT WHEN
Research notes need to be compared across sessions.
A team needs to discuss competing interpretations of evidence.
An idea set needs organising before selecting directions.
When to choose another method
Use Card Sorting when participants should organise content for an information architecture study.
Use a systematic analysis approach appropriate to your research question when a quick grouping exercise is insufficient.
Do not combine unlabelled opinions and participant evidence into one apparent finding.
What you’ll need
Prepare concise notes containing one meaningful observation or claim each. Attach source codes and distinguish quotes, observations and interpretations. Give the group access to the underlying material. Agree the question the synthesis supports and make space for notes that do not fit. Avoid putting personal identifying information on a shared board.
What the method needs
Keep the elements that help answer your question and support a decision.
Small units that preserve enough context to be understood.
A route back to the original account or observation.
Provisional groupings based on meaning rather than shared words alone.
Statements that explain what holds a group together.
Contrary or unmatched accounts that challenge the pattern.
A next question or decision supported by the evidence.
02 / PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
How to create an affinity map
Keep evidence and assumptions distinct. Revisit your work when new information changes your understanding.
01
Prepare the material
Separate observations from interpretations before grouping.
Code notes from appointment change sessions by source.
02
Read before sorting
Give people time to understand the notes without an early dominant label.
Read what happened, not just the word “cancel”.
03
Group by meaning
Move related notes together and leave uncertainty visible.
Separate difficulty finding a change option from fear of losing a booking.
04
Name the pattern
Write a label that explains the relationship.
“Changing a time appears to threaten the existing booking.”
05
Challenge the cluster
Return to source material and examine contradictory accounts.
Check whether everyone encountered the same interface state.
06
Choose a next step
Record the implication, evidence and open question.
Investigate the change route before deciding which control to redesign.
Example: making sense of appointment change notes
Illustrative notes, not real research findings. Three fictional notes mention cancellation. One describes not finding another route, one describes avoiding a warning, and one describes successfully cancelling an unwanted booking.
Grouping them as “cancellation problems” would hide their different meanings. The team separates route discovery, perceived risk and intentional cancellation. It proposes investigating the first two while preserving the third as an important case the redesign must still support. The cluster label becomes a claim to examine, not a count of everyone who used the same word.
03 / BELOW THE SURFACE
Below the surface: neatness can remove the important exception
A large cluster can look more authoritative than a single note, especially when the team counts notes rather than distinct accounts. Check what the apparent weight represents. Several notes from one session do not establish that a pattern is widespread.
01 / EVIDENCE
What is supported?
Which source or observation supports the current interpretation?
02 / LIMIT
What remains uncertain?
Which assumption would change the decision if it were wrong?
03 / ACTION
What happens next?
Who will investigate or test the next step, and when?
Keep source coverage visible and ask whether the exception changes the implication. A successful cancellation may matter as much as several confused attempts when redesigning the same control. This is an editorial check against premature consensus, not a statistical weighting rule. If the decision depends on prevalence, collect evidence suited to that question.
Affinity Mapping template
Use the first page for the practical work and the second to challenge the reasoning before choosing a next step. The canvas follows this guide and keeps evidence, assumptions and decisions visible.
The two page PDF contains 12 editable fields. Open it in a PDF reader that supports forms and save a working copy.
Practical tips
Use labels that explain a relationship, not just a topic.
Preserve sources when moving or duplicating notes.
Allow a note to remain outside the current groups.
Common mistakes
Grouping by keywords without reading the meaning.
Treating the number of notes as the number of people.
Removing contradictions to make the board look coherent.
What you’ll get
Traceable clusters and a question to investigate. Keep the supporting evidence and unresolved questions with the output. Assign an owner to the next action and revisit the result when the underlying situation changes. The method supports judgement; the completed canvas is not proof that the proposed choice will work.