Constructing causal loop diagrams from large interview data sets
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: "Tackling the Root Causes Upstream of Unhealth Urban Development" is a trans-disciplinary research project seeking to map and understand urban development decision-making, visualise stakeholder mental models and codevelop improvement interventions. The project's primary data was gathered through 123 semistructured interviews. This article applies, compares, and discusses four variations on a method for constructing causal loop diagrams to illuminate mental models and collective decision-making, based on manual and semiautomated processes applied to individual interview transcripts and datasets collected by thematic analysis. It concludes that while semiautomated approaches offer some time saving over manual approaches when applied to large data sets, care is required in interpreting and including peripheral contextual variables at the boundaries of the thematic analysis. Decisions regarding automation depend on the purpose of the modelling. Finally, the article recommends future applications record quantitative descriptors characterising the process of constructing CLDs from large qualitative data sets.
Source: System Dynamics Review
DOI: 10.1002/sdr.1745
Authors: Pablo Newberry, Neil Carhart
Institution: University of Bristol
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,040
Funders: Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health and Care Research, British Heart Foundation, Public Health Agency, Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division
OpenAlex ID: W4386626005