Our publications on causal mapping#

Better Evaluation. (2024, July 1). Causal mapping. Better Evaluation Knowledge. https://www.betterevaluation.org/methods-approaches/methods/causal-mapping

Britt, H., Powell, S., & Cabral, G. C. (2025). Strengthening Outcome Harvesting with AI-assisted causal mapping (Causal Pathways Intiative: Case Studies). Causal Pathways Initiative. https://5a867cea-2d96-4383-acf1-7bc3d406cdeb.usrfiles.com/ugd/5a867c_ad000813c80747baa85c7bd5ffaf0442.pdf

Goddard, S. (2023). Comparing a Fine-Tuned Model to an Engineered Prompt in the Context of Causal Connections in a Passage of Text [Master’s Thesis]. University of Bath.

Powell, S., Cabral, G. C., & Mishan, H. (2025). A workflow for collecting and understanding stories at scale, supported by artificial intelligence. Evaluation. https://doi.org/10.1177/13563890251328640

(Powell & Caldas Cabral, 2025)

Powell, S., Copestake, J., & Remnant, F. (2024). Causal mapping for evaluators. Evaluation, 30(1), 100–119. https://doi.org/10.1177/13563890231196601

Powell, S., Larquemin, A., Copestake, J., Remnant, F., & Avard, R. (2023). Does our theory match your theory? Theories of change and causal maps in Ghana. In L. Simeone, D. Drabble, N. Morelli, & A. de Götzen (Eds.), Strategic Thinking, Design and the Theory of Change. A Framework for Designing Impactful and Transformational Social Interventions. Edward Elgar.

Rassmann, K., Powell, S., Caldas-Cabral, G., & Müllegger, B. (Forthcoming). The role of AI-driven interviewers in evaluating and promoting democratic processes. In Evaluieren mit Künstlicher Intelligenz. Wie KI zur Wirkung und Förderung der Demokratie beitragen kann.

Remnant, F., Copestake, J., Powell, S., & Channon, M. (2025). Qualitative Causal Mapping in Evaluations. In A. Kaehne & J. Feather (Eds.), Handbook of Health Services Evaluation: Theories, Methods and Innovative Practices (pp. 207–227). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-87869-5_12

Some Research Reports using the Causal Map app#

Quip / Bath SDR reports and papers#

Bradley, M. (n.d.). Leveraging the Home, School, and Church for Whole Child Development in Haiti: L3.

Digital, S. (2023, September 19). The Garden Trust Project Evaluation in Zimbabwe 2021. Save the Children’s Resource Centre. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/The-Garden-Trust-Project-Evaluation-in-Zimbabwe-2023.pdf/

DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN NORTHERN UGANDA: Exploring the influence of Village Savings and Loans Associations among smallholder farmers. (n.d.). AGDEVCO. https://bathsdr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GADC_summary_AW_digital.pdf

James, M., & Forrester-Jones, R. (2025). Exploring the Role of Social Protection in UK Asylum-Seeker Wellbeing Using Human Scale Development Theory. Social Sciences, 14(8), 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14080474

Opportunity International. (2025, February 4). Strengthening Systems for Financial Inclusion in Malawi—Final Project Evaluation Report by Opportunity International—Issuu. https://issuu.com/opportunity/docs/strengthening_systems_for_financial_inclusion_in_m

Pilot Universal Child Benefit Programme in Kenya | UNICEF Kenya. (2025, January 14). https://www.unicef.org/kenya/reports/pilot-universal-child-benefit-programme-kenya

Qualitative Study of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Urban Zambia | Innocenti Global Office of Research and Foresight. (2025, March 11). https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/qualitative-study-social-cash-transfer-programme-urban-zambia

Research reports: How active churches help communities overcome poverty. (2024, July 25). Tearfund Learn. https://learn.tearfund.org/en/resources/research-report/how-active-churches-help-communities-overcome-poverty

Save the Children. (2024). Cash plus for Nutrition in Malawi: Findings from mid-term evaluations of the MAZIKO project. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.nethttps://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/cash-plus-for-nutrition-in-malawi-findings-from-mid-term-evaluations-of-the-maziko-project/

World Food Programme. (2021). WFP Contribution to Market Development and Food Systems in Southern Africa: Thematic Evaluation | World Food Programme. https://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-contribution-market-development-and-food-systems-southern-africa-thematic

Other reports and papers using Causal Map#

Bradley, M. (n.d.). Leveraging the Home, School, and Church for Whole Child Development in Haiti: L3.

Digital, S. (2023, September 19). The Garden Trust Project Evaluation in Zimbabwe 2021. Save the Children’s Resource Centre. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/The-Garden-Trust-Project-Evaluation-in-Zimbabwe-2023.pdf/

DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN NORTHERN UGANDA: Exploring the influence of Village Savings and Loans Associations among smallholder farmers. (n.d.). AGDEVCO. https://bathsdr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GADC_summary_AW_digital.pdf

James, M., & Forrester-Jones, R. (2025). Exploring the Role of Social Protection in UK Asylum-Seeker Wellbeing Using Human Scale Development Theory. Social Sciences, 14(8), 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14080474

Opportunity International. (2025, February 4). Strengthening Systems for Financial Inclusion in Malawi—Final Project Evaluation Report by Opportunity International—Issuu. https://issuu.com/opportunity/docs/strengthening_systems_for_financial_inclusion_in_m

Pilot Universal Child Benefit Programme in Kenya | UNICEF Kenya. (2025, January 14). https://www.unicef.org/kenya/reports/pilot-universal-child-benefit-programme-kenya

Qualitative Study of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Urban Zambia | Innocenti Global Office of Research and Foresight. (2025, March 11). https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/qualitative-study-social-cash-transfer-programme-urban-zambia

Research reports: How active churches help communities overcome poverty. (2024, July 25). Tearfund Learn. https://learn.tearfund.org/en/resources/research-report/how-active-churches-help-communities-overcome-poverty

Save the Children. (2024). Cash plus for Nutrition in Malawi: Findings from mid-term evaluations of the MAZIKO project. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.nethttps://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/cash-plus-for-nutrition-in-malawi-findings-from-mid-term-evaluations-of-the-maziko-project/

World Food Programme. (2021). WFP Contribution to Market Development and Food Systems in Southern Africa: Thematic Evaluation | World Food Programme. https://www.wfp.org/publications/wfp-contribution-market-development-and-food-systems-southern-africa-thematic

Key works related to causal mapping#

Some of these works explicitly use the phrase "causal mapping" for what they do; others are are either basically doing the same thing under a different name or are from importantly related approaches like PSM, Gabek, and others.

Ackermann, B. F., Eden, C., & Cropper, S. (2004). Getting Started with Cognitive Mapping (No. April 1992). April 1992, Article April 1992.

Ackermann, F., & Alexander, J. (2016). Researching complex projects: Using causal mapping to take a systems perspective. International Journal of Project Management, 34, 891–901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.04.001

Ackermann, F., & Eden, C. (2011). Using Causal Mapping to Support Information Systems Development. Causal Mapping for Research in Information Technology, July 2019, Article July 2019.

Ackermann, F., & Maytorena-Sanchez, E. (2024). Overlooked and underused? The benefits and challenges of using causal mapping for project studies. Project Leadership and Society, 5, 100161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plas.2024.100161

Axelrod, R. (1976). The Analysis of Cognitive Maps. In Structure of Decision: The Cognitive Maps of Political Elites.

Bana e Costa, C., Ensslin, L., Cornêa, É., & Vansnick, J.-C. (1999). Decision Support Systems in action: Integrated application in a multicriteria decision aid process. European Journal of Operational Research, 113, 315–335.

Buzogany, R., Kopainsky, B., & Gonçalves, P. (2024). Developing theoretically grounded causal maps to examine and improve policy narratives about global challenges. System Dynamics Review, 40. https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.1788

Clarkson, G. P., & Hodgkinson, G. P. (2005). Introducing CognizerTM: A comprehensive computer package for the elicitation and analysis of cause maps. Organizational Research Methods, 8(3), Article 3.

Clarkson, G. P., & Kelly, M. A. (2017). Chapter 8: Quantitative Measures of Cognitive Map Structure: Probability Distributions Derived by Monte Carlo Simulation. In R. J. Galavan, K. J. Sund, & G. P. Hodgkinson (Eds.), New Horizons in Managerial and Organizational Cognition (Vol. 2, pp. 175–218). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2397-52102017008

Craven, L. K. (2017). System Effects: A Hybrid Methodology for Exploring the Determinants of Food In/Security. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 107(5), Article 5.

Eden, C. (1988). Cognitive Mapping. European Journal of Operational Research, 36, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-2217(88)90002-1

Eden, C. (1992). On the Nature of Cognitive Maps. Journal of Management Studies, 29(3), Article 3.

Eden, C., Ackermann, F., & Cropper, S. (1992). The Analysis of Cause Maps. Journal of Management Studies, 29(3), Article 3.

Giabbanelli, P. J., Gandee, T. J., Agrawal, A., & Hosseinichimeh, N. (2025). Benchmarking and Assessing Transformations Between Text and Causal Maps via Large Language Models. Applied Ontology, 15705838241304102. https://doi.org/10.1177/15705838241304102

Goodier, C., Austin, S., Soetanto, R., & Dainty, A. (2010). Causal mapping and scenario building with multiple organisations. Futures, 42(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2009.11.007

Hayward, J., Morton, S., Johnstone, M., Creighton, D., & Allender, S. (2020). Tools and analytic techniques to synthesise community knowledge in CBPR using computer-mediated participatory system modelling. Npj Digital Medicine, 3(1), Article 1.

Hodgkinson, G. P., Bown, N. J., Maule, A. J., Glaister, K. W., & Pearman, A. D. (1999). Breaking the frame: An analysis of strategic cognition and decision making under uncertainty. Strategic Management Journal, 20(10), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199910)20:10<977::AID-SMJ58>3.0.CO;2-X

Hodgkinson, G. P., & Clarkson, G. P. (2005). What have we learned from almost 30 years of research on causal mapping? Methodological lessons and choices for the information systems and information technology communities. Causal Mapping for Research in Information Technology, 46–80.

Hodgkinson, G. P., Maule, A. J., & Bown, N. J. (2004). Causal Cognitive Mapping in the Organizational Strategy Field: A Comparison of Alternative Elicitation Procedures. Organizational Research Methods, 7(1), Article 1.

Hodgkinson, G. P., Maule, A. J., Bown, N. J., Pearman, A. D., & Glaister, K. W. (2002). Further Reflections on the Elimination of Framing Bias in Strategic Decision Making. Strategic Management Journal, 23(11), Article 11.

Hodgkinson, G. P., Sund, K. J., & Galavan, R. J. (2017). Chapter 1: Exploring Methods in Managerial and Organizational Cognition: Advances, Controversies, and Contributions. In R. J. Galavan, K. J. Sund, & G. P. Hodgkinson (Eds.), New Horizons in Managerial and Organizational Cognition (Vol. 2, pp. 1–22). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2397-52102017002

Jenkins, M., & Johnson, G. (1997). Linking Managerial Cognition and Organizational Performance: A Preliminary Investigation Using Causal Maps. British Journal of Management, 8(s1), Article s1. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.8.s1.7

Jeong, A., & Lee, W. J. (2012). Developing causal understanding with causal maps: The impact of total links, temporal flow, and lateral position of outcome nodes. Educ. Technol. Res. Dev., 60(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9227-0

Khan, M. S., & Quaddus, M. (2004). Group decision support using fuzzy cognitive maps for causal reasoning. Group Decision and Negotiation, 13(5), Article 5.

Kim, H., & Andersen, D. F. (2012). Building confidence in causal maps generated from purposive text data: Mapping transcripts of the Federal Reserve. System Dynamics Review, 28(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.1480

Klintwall, L., Bellander, M., & Cervin, M. (2021). Perceived Causal Problem Networks: Reliability, Central Problems, and Clinical Utility for Depression. Assessment, 10731911211039281.

Kneale, D., Thomas, J., Bangpan, M., Waddington, H., & Gough, D. (2018). Causal Chain Analysis in Systematic Reviews of International Development Interventions. https://cedilprogramme.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Inception-Paper-No-4.pdf

Krentel, A., & Aunger, R. (2012). Causal chain mapping: A novel method to analyse treatment compliance decisions relating to lymphatic filariasis elimination in Alor, Indonesia. Health Policy Plan., 27(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czr048

Langfield-Smith, K., & Wirth, A. (1992). Measuring differences between cognitive maps. J. Oper. Res. Soc., 43(12), Article 12.

Lee, W. J., & Fl, T. (n.d.). The Relationship between Accuracy and Attributes in Students’ Causal Diagrams, Total links, Temporal Flow, and Node Positions. 11.

Lotto, L. S., & Murphy, J. (1988). Making Sense of Schools as Organizations: Cognition and Sensemaking in Schools.

Markiczy, L., & Goldberg, J. (1995). A method for eliciting and comparing causal maps. Journal of Management, 21(2), Article 2.

Maule, A. J., Hodgkinson, G. P., & Bown, N. J. (2003). Cognitive Mapping of Causal Reasoning in Strategic Decision Making. In D. Hardman & L. Macchi (Eds.), Thinking: Psychological Perspectives on Reasoning, Judgment and Decision Making (1st ed., pp. 251–272). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/047001332X.ch13

McCardle-Keurentjes, M. H. F., Rouwette, E. A. J. A., Vennix, J. A. M., & Jacobs, E. (2018). Potential benefits of model use in group model building: Insights from an experimental investigation. System Dynamics Review, 34(1–2), Article 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.1603

Montibeller, G., Belton, V., Ackermann, F., & Ensslin, L. (2008). Reasoning maps for decision aid: An integrated approach for problem-structuring and multi-criteria evaluation. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 59(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602347

Moon, K., Guerrero, A. M., Adams, V. M., Biggs, D., Blackman, D. A., Craven, L., Dickinson, H., & Ross, H. (2019). Mental models for conservation research and practice. Conservation Letters, February, Article February. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12642

Murray, C. A. (1974). Investment and tithing in Thai villages: A behavioral study of rural modernization. [PhD Thesis]. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Nadkarni, S., & Narayanan, V. K. (2005). Validity of the structural properties of text-based causal maps: An empirical assessment. Organizational Research Methods, 8(1), Article 1.

Nadkarni, S., & Shenoy, P. P. (2001). Bayesian network approach to making inferences in causal maps. European Journal of Operational Research, 128(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(99)00368-9

Nadkarni, S., & Shenoy, P. P. (2004). Nadkarni and Shenoy 2004 -A causal mapping approach.pdf (No. 2). 38(2), Article 2.

Narayanan, V. K. (2005). Causal mapping: An historical overview. In Causal mapping for research in information technology (pp. 1–19). IGI Global. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/61z36j6QgmAC?hl=en&gbpv=1

Narayanan, V. K., & Armstrong, D. J. (2004). Causal mapping for research in information technology. IGI Global.

Narayanan, V. K., Zane, L. J., & Kemmerer, B. (2011). The cognitive perspective in strategy: An integrative review. Journal of Management, 37(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310383986

Penn, A., & Barbrook-Johnson, P. (2019). Participatory Systems Mapping: A practical guide. 1–4.

Rodrigues, T. C., Montibeller, G., Oliveira, M. D., & Bana e Costa, C. A. (2017). Modelling multicriteria value interactions with Reasoning Maps. European Journal of Operational Research, 258(3), Article 3.

Savona, N., Macauley, T., Aguiar, A., Banik, A., Boberska, M., Brock, J., Brown, A., Hayward, J., Holbæk, H., Rito, A. I., Mendes, S., Vaaheim, F., van Houten, M., Veltkamp, G., Allender, S., Rutter, H., & Knai, C. (2021). Identifying the views of adolescents in five European countries on the drivers of obesity using group model building. European Journal of Public Health, ckaa251. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa251

Scavarda, A. J., Bouzdine-Chameeva, T., Goldstein, S. M., Hays, J. M., & Hill, A. V. (2006). A Methodology for Constructing Collective Causal Maps*. Decision Sciences, 37(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2006.00124.x

Scavarda, Bouzdin-Chameeva, Goldstein, & others. (2004). A review of the causal mapping practice and research literature. Second World Conference.

Sedlacko, M., Martinuzzi, A., Røpke, I., Videira, N., & Antunes, P. (2014). Participatory systems mapping for sustainable consumption: Discussion of a method promoting systemic insights. Ecological Economics, 106, 33–43.

Srivastava, A., Srivastava, N., & Chandrasekharan, S. (2021). Quality of concept maps is affected by map building strategies. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 49(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21412

Srivastava, R. P., Buche, M. W., & Roberts, T. L. (2011). Belief Function Approach to Evidential Reasoning in Causal Maps. Causal Mapping for Research in Information Technology, 109–141. https://doi.org/10.4018/9781591403968.ch005

Strelnikoff, S., Jammalamadaka, A., & Warmsley, D. (2020). Causal Maps for Multi-Document Summarization. 4437–4445. https://doi.org/10.1109/BigData50022.2020.9377731

Tegarden, D. P., & Sheetz, S. D. (2003). Group cognitive mapping: A methodology and system for capturing and evaluating managerial and organizational cognition. Omega, 31(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-0483(03)00018-5

Tegarden, D. P., Tegarden, L. F., & Sheetz, S. D. (2009). Cognitive Factions in a Top Management Team: Surfacing and Analyzing Cognitive Diversity using Causal Maps. Group Decision and Negotiation, 18(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-007-9099-1

Tegarden, D., Tegarden, L., Smith, W., & Sheetz, S. (2016). De-Fusing Organizational Power Using Anonymity and Cognitive Factions in a Participative Strategic Planning Setting. Group Decision and Negotiation, 25(1), Article 1.

Tolman, E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 55(4), Article 4.

Valdivia Cabrera, M., Johnstone, M., Hayward, J., Bolton, K. A., & Creighton, D. (2025). Integration of large-scale community-developed causal loop diagrams: A Natural Language Processing approach to merging factors based on semantic similarity. BMC Public Health, 25(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22142-3

Wutzke, S., Roberts, N., Willis, C., Best, A., Wilson, A., & Trochim, W. (2017). Setting strategy for system change: Using concept mapping to prioritise national action for chronic disease prevention. Health Res. Policy Syst., 15(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-017-0231-7

Zelger, J. (n.d.-a). GABEK-Netze als Tools zur Unterstützung komplexer Entscheidungsprozesse.

Zelger, J. (n.d.-b). Qualitative Research by the Method GABEK.

Zhang, W.-R., Chen, S.-S., & Bezdek, J. C. (1989). Pool2: A generic system for cognitive map development and decision analysis. IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern., 19(1), Article 1.