The Centre for Qualitative Research is running a workshop on Causal Mapping as Causal QDA: A Practical Introduction.

During this workshop you will get:

• an insight into the fundamental theories of causal mapping
• a hands-on practical introduction to causal coding

Workshop overview

In causal QDA (qualitative data analysis), the analyst codes causal claims in text data natively as links between causal factors, rather than first coding themes or tags and then creating links between them afterwards.

When the main purpose of your qualitative analysis is to learn 'what causally influences what', or at least, 'what people think causally influences what', causal mapping helps to simplify the process.

Causal mapping offers:

• a faster and more direct way of coding
• a more directive template for coding than through traditional QDA
• direct representation of findings as graphical causal maps
• a toolbox full of ways to formulate and analyse questions like 'How much evidence is there that driver D influenced outcome O?'

Workshop leaders

Steve Powell has been working with Fiona Remnant and Professor James Copestake from Bath Social and Development Research Ltd since 2019 to bring causal mapping to life.

Steve Powell

Steve has led and contributed to research and evaluation projects in many countries around the world over the last 25 years. He has worked on a wide range of topics, from psychosocial programming after the 2004 tsunami and community resilience in East Africa, to counting stray dogs in Sarajevo. Steve has expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation approaches. He gained his PhD in psychology by researching post-traumatic stress after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Fiona Remnant

Fiona is a communications and research professional, with a special interest in the practical application of academic research in the international development sector. She has worked in communications in the private and NGO sectors, in both regional and international roles, including four years in Sri Lanka at the Centre for Poverty Analysis.

James Copestake

James Copestake is a Professor of International Development at the University of Bath. His interests span agrarian change, rural development, development finance and evaluation, poverty and wellbeing, and the political economy of international development, and the interactions between these diverse topics.