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Paper short abstract

This poster is a guide for evaluators interested in what causal mapping can do, covering the basics of the method, when it fits and when it doesn't, and a gallery of evaluation questions it can tackle, from tracing individual pathways and aggregating stories across sources, to comparing groups, following causal chains, identifying emerging factors, and assessing impact pathways.

Paper long abstract

The poster — Evaluation questions you can answer with causal mapping — is a walk-through guide aimed at evaluators curious about what the method can actually do for them. It opens with basic information on causal mapping and causal maps, then sets out when the method fits and when it doesn't, before working through a gallery of evaluation questions you can tackle with it. Each question gets its own panel with an example map.

The questions covered are:

+ View individual pathways — what is one respondent's experience?

+ View aggregated pathways — what is the main story across all your sources?

+ Compare groups — which links were mentioned more by some groups than others?

+ Trace causal chains — what are the direct and indirect consequences of a given factor?

+ Identify unexpected elements — what new or emerging factors are showing up?

+ Impact pathways — what's the evidence that the intervention influenced key outcomes?

The take-home message is that causal mapping organises the evidence but doesn't hand you the verdict — the judgement is still yours. The footer points to Causal Map 4, an app for causal mapping which is free for public projects, and links to a full guide on causal mapping.