Guide to Causal Mapping
Overview
1: Getting Started
Level 1 overview
📚 What is a causal map?
📚 What is causal mapping?
- Causation - no longer a taboo
- CEDIL Video on Impact evaluation: causal maps, mechanisms and the elusive quest for useful middle range theory
📚 Are Causal Map and causal mapping for you?
Prerequisites for using the app
- Signing up
Accounts
Getting help
Has someone shared a file with you?
You want to code your own data?
Your first 5 minutes with Causal Map
Interactive View
- Tracing paths
Print view
- Copying your map as a vector image
Tables
- Presets
Level 1 quiz
2: Basic Coding
Level 2 overview
Making your own copy of a file
Creating a new file
How to upload and update your data – Overview
Preparing to code
The info panel
- The memos panel
The Coding Panel: creating factors and links
- Creating links in the app
  - About the factor label dropdown menus
Editing factors and links (basic)
📚 Factor labels: introduction
📚 Factor labels: actual facts?
📚 Factor labels: actor-focused
📚 Factor labels: semi-quantitative
- “Semi-quantitative’ labels
  - Examples of semi-quantitative factors
  - Non-quantitative factors
📚 Factor labels: using hashtags
Level 2 quiz
3: Basic analysis
Level 3 overview
Analysing a file
- Background information about filters
The Dashboard
Tables
- Features common to all the tables
The Factors table
- Factor memos
The Mentions Table
The Links Table
- Fields
The Statements Table
- Fields
The Sources Table
- Fields
The Questions Table
The Closed Question Blocks Table
The Metrics Table
- Summary
- What the metrics mean
Level 3 quiz
📚4: Advanced coding
Level 4 overview
Managing your file: The top menu
Data manager
Memos in Causal Map
Collaborating at Causal Map
- Overview
  - Details
- Teams
Uploading your data
Uploading additional data like age, gender
- Uploading closed question blocks
Uploading your data: special cases
- Uploading from other software
  - Exporting for upload into kumu.io
  - Exporting for upload into NodeXL
Appending and fixing data (“roundtripping”)
Merging files
- Alternative method
Editing factors and links (advanced)
📚 Factor labels: consolidating
- Consolidating and editing factor labels
  - Merging multiple factors into one
  - QuIP specific: back-chaining
📚 Factor labels: desirable?!
📚 Factor labels: more about hashtags
The Factor Editor
📚 Simplifying causal maps with hierarchical coding
Hierarchical factors in Causal Map
📚 Coding opposites
Importing a codebook of factors
Creating links (more tips)
Link memos and hashtags
- Using memos and hashtags
  - Memos
  - Link hashtags
Ellipses
- Coding your statements in context: referring to evidence from elsewhere
Quickfields
📚 Plain coding
Document coding score
Level 4 quiz
5: Advanced analysis
Level 5 overview
Dashboard (advanced)
Filters – overview
What is the logic behind the Causal Map filters?
Filters: tips
- Restoring previous filter
📚 Analysis: comparing maps between particular groups
Quickfields: analysis
📚 Tracing paths
- Summary
  - How to trace paths
  - Removing unwanted links
Tracing threads
- Summary
- Tracing threads
Continuity
Conditional formats
Simple formats
Smart zooming
📚 Clustering sources
📚 Interpreting your results
Tables - advanced
Top tips on coding
Level 5 quiz
The rest of the app
The Updates tab
The File Manager
Managing your subscription
Auto-coding using AI
📚Spotlights
Spotlight
📚 Causal Mapping: Definitions
- What is a causal map? What is causal mapping?
- Summary
📚 Causal mapping for evaluators
📚 Causal Mapping and Outcome Harvesting
📚 Context in causal mapping: how to code it
- Using context in the Causal Map app
📚 Beware the transitivity trap
📚 Cases, variables and percentages in causal mapping?
📚 Different kinds of question chaining, with QuIP and ParEvo as illustrations
📚 How to get to the shadow side: a problem with back-chaining
📚 Strength: Adding additional information like strength of a link in a causal map
📚 The last minute principle
📚 Causal maps, systems maps, what’s the difference? Does it matter?
- What is the difference between a causal map and a systems map?
- Are systems maps about systems?
📚 Coding time in causal mapping
More about coding opposites
📚 Puzzles in causal mapping
📚 Is one direction enough?
Technical reference
Technical reference
Conventions
- Formatting in this guide…
Screenshotting your maps
FAQs
📚 Glossary
- Generic terminology for causal mapping
Filter reference
How Causal Map is hosted
Reports tab
Core tables in Causal Map
- The main five tables and the most important fields / columns
Medals
Using the Advanced Editor to create and edit filters
Keyboard shortcuts
- General
- Factor Editor and Advanced Editor
  - Line operations
  - Selection
  - Multicursor
  - Go to
  - Find/Replace
  - Folding
  - Other
Causal Map functions
Video list
Causal mapping with Excel
Using StorySurvey
Features of Causal Map
- Main features of Causal Map
- Additional new features in Causal Map 2
Recent changes
📚Final section
Acknowledgements
Appendix: Publications and links
References
Causal Map

Guide to Causal Map 2

Spotlight

This section highlights some thought-provoking issues and quandaries with causal mapping.