A Method for Eliciting and Comparing Causal Maps
详述了一种可复制的因果地图引出技术，并基于对地图含义的分析，提出了一种客观比较地图的方法，同时讨论了分析距离度量工具，适合研究个体信念的学者参考。
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.