A method for eliciting and comparing causal maps
提出了一种可复制的因果地图引出技术，并开发了客观比较地图的方法，利用地图内所有信息，使主观因素透明化，适用于研究者系统分析个体信念。
Causal mapping has long been valued as a tool for exploring individuals' idiosyncratic beliefs. In this paper we do three things to make these benefits more utilizable by researchers. First, by detailing a replicable elicitation technique, we lay the ground for systematic and objective comparison of these beliefs: Systematic analysis and comparison require systematic elicitation. Secondly, through a careful analysis of what a causal map means, we have been able to refine a way of comparing maps which uses all of the available information within the maps and is objective in the sense that all subjective aspects of the method are made explicit (e.g., the pool of constructs, the interpretation of missing information, etc.). Thirdly, we discuss and extend various tools for analyzing the distance based measures which the comparison yields. In addition, a brief example of the use of the method is sketched.