• Guide to Causal Mapping
  • Overview
    • What is Causal Map?
    • Videos
    • Support chat
    • Quizzes
    • Selected projects to date
    • License
  • 1: Getting Started
  • Level 1 overview
  • 📚 What is a causal map?
  • 📚 What is causal mapping?
    • Causation - no longer a taboo
  • 📚 Are Causal Map and causal mapping for you?
  • Prerequisites for using the app
    • Signing up
  • Accounts
  • Getting help
    • Tooltips
    • Blue info buttons
    • Help button
    • Support chat
  • Has someone shared a file with you?
  • You want to code your own data?
  • Your first 5 minutes with Causal Map
    • Quick tour of the app
    • Coding a file
      • Multiple statement selector
    • Viewing and analysing a file
      • The Dashboard
      • The other tabs
  • Interactive View
  • Print view
    • Copying your map as a vector image
  • 🧪Tables
    • Presets
  • Level 1 quiz
  • 2: Basic Coding
  • Level 2 overview
  • Making your own copy of a file
  • Creating a new file
  • How to upload and update your data – Overview
    • How to…
  • Preparing to code
  • The info panel
    • The memos panel
  • The Coding Panel: creating factors and links
    • Creating links in the app
      • About the factor label dropdown menus
  • Level 2 quiz
  • 3: Basic analysis
  • Level 3 overview
  • Analysing a file
    • Background information about filters
  • The Dashboard
  • 🧪Tables
    • Features common to all the tables
      • Main controls
      • Search
      • Sorting
  • 🧪The Factors table
    • Factor memos
  • 🧪The Mentions Table
  • 🧪The Links Table
    • Fields
  • 🧪The Statements Table
    • Fields
  • 🧪The Sources Table
    • Fields
  • 🧪The Questions Table
  • 🧪The Closed Question Blocks Table
  • 🧪The Metrics Table
    • Summary
    • What the metrics mean
  • Level 3 quiz
  • 📚4: Advanced coding
  • Level 4 overview
  • Collaborating at Causal Map
    • Overview
      • Details
    • Teams
  • The top menu
    • Current File Manager
      • Sharing and locking files
      • File memo
    • ⚡ Making your own copy of a file
    • Restoring a previous version of your file
    • Uploading your data
    • Chat about this file
  • Uploading your data
    • Importing a simple, wide-format file
      • Adding additional cases with wide-format files
    • Standard format
      • Formatting a Standard Format file: The basics
      • Starting from a Word document
      • Uploading from PDFs
      • Making a basic statements table by hand
  • Uploading additional data
    • Providing additional data as additional fields in the statements table.
    • Uploading using separate source and question tables
  • Appending and fixing data (“roundtripping”)
    • General principles
    • Downloading a file
    • Uses for roundtripping
    • What if you have merged cells in your Excel file?
  • Importing your data: special cases
    • Importing from other software
      • Exporting for import into kumu.io
      • Exporting for import into NodeXL
    • Importing existing causal coding
    • Uploading closed question blocks
      • QuIP-specific: Uploading hybrid format data
    • Appending hybrid data
  • Merging files
    • Alternative method
  • The Factor Editor
    • Summary
    • Editing factor labels in the Factor Editor
    • Editing factors in the factor editor is disabled when you use any of these filters:
    • Split-recoding existing factors: Use the Split checkbox.
    • Advanced editing tips
    • The factor editor sidebar
  • More coding
    • Creating more than one link at a time
    • Chaining Links
    • Using memos and hashtags
      • Memos
      • Hashtags / link flags
  • 📚 Strength: Adding additional information like strength of a link in a causal map
  • Editing factors and links
  • 📚 Plain coding
    • Summary
    • What the app does
    • Future
  • 📚 Simplifying causal maps with hierarchical coding
    • Summary
    • Introduction
    • Interpretation of the ; separator
    • Semi-quantitative formulations work best
    • Higher-level factors are generalisations
    • Hierarchical coding as a way of coping with a large number of factors
    • Themes
    • Re-usable factor components as text flags
    • Zooming out
  • 💻 Hierarchical factors in Causal Map
    • Creating labels
    • Relabelling
    • Additional calculated fields
    • Additional functionality in the Create & Edit Links panel
      • Quick tails
    • Search with nested factors
    • How can I view just the factors where I have applied hierarchical coding?
    • Viewing the top level labels
    • Simplifying (zooming out, and filtering out less frequent links and factors) in the app
  • Importing a codebook of factors
  • Quickfields
    • Summary
    • Alternative formulations
    • Quickfields are also ordinary flags
    • Syntax
    • More than one quick field
    • Permanence
    • Position in hierarchy
    • Current limitation
    • 🧪Quickfields for links
    • Quickfields for factor labels versus ordinary hashtags for links
  • 📚 Coding opposites
    • Summary
    • Combining opposites
      • Two-tone links
      • Filtering
    • Opposites coding within a hierarchy
    • Opposites coding within components of a hierarchy
    • Unpacking opposites
  • 📚 Tricky coding challenges
  • Document coding score!
  • Data manager
  • 📚 Creating good factor labels
    • Actor-focused labels
    • Formulating factors as “semi-quantitative”
      • Relax! Use heterogeneous, “in-vivo” factor labels
      • QuIP specific: back-chaining
      • Examples of semi-quantitative factors
    • Opposed pairs of causal factors
    • Formulating factors as desirable
    • Examples of non-quantitative factors
    • Using flags in factor labels
      • Hanging flags
      • Flags for bundling factors
      • Intervention Flags
      • Outcome Flags
      • Coding your statements in context: referring to evidence from elsewhere
    • Consolidating and editing factor labels
      • Merging multiple factors into one
  • Level 4 quiz
  • 5: Advanced analysis
  • Level 5 overview
  • Dashboard (advanced)
    • Using and sharing a view
    • ⭐ Recommended views versus 🤵custom views
    • Complete views versus “Add-ons”
    • To edit the content (filter, tab etc) of an existing view:
    • Applying a view
    • For admins
  • Filters – overview
    • Applying different filters
    • Find factors
      • Searching and filtering factors
    • Find statements, find links
      • Find links
    • Highlight only
    • Remove brackets
    • Excluding factors, links, statements, sources and questions with notcontains and notequals
    • Trace paths
    • Bundle factors
    • Combine opposites
    • Filtering group by group
  • What is the logic behind the Causal Map filters?
    • Keeping it simple
    • The order of the filters with calculated fields
    • Autocorrect
    • Where do these islands come from in my map?
  • Filters: tips
    • Restoring previous filter
  • 📚 Analysis: comparing maps between particular groups
    • Filtering by respondent group
    • Showing distinctive maps for each group
    • Filtering statements and groups for comparisons in Causal Map
    • Percentages
    • Surprise
  • Quickfields: analysis
    • Summary
    • Uses
    • Quickfields are also ordinary flags
    • Hiding quickfields
    • Current limitation
    • 🧪Quickfields for links
  • 📚 Tracing paths
    • Summary
      • How to trace paths
      • 🧪Removing unwanted links
  • Continuity and tracing threads
    • Summary
    • Tracing threads (aka tracing continuity)
    • Advanced diagnostic filter: Mark links for continuity (Print View only)
    • Advanced diagnostic filter: Show continuity
      • Summary
      • Showing continuity with arrowtypes
      • Showing continuity with colours
      • More about these metrics
  • Conditional formats
    • Conditional formatting for links
    • Conditional formatting for factors
      • Colour text
      • Label factors
    • Bundle links
    • Colours
      • Fixed colours
      • Changing discrete palettes
    • Calculated fields
      • Links table
      • Factors table
      • When combining opposites
  • Simple formats
    • Fixed colours for all links, factors and factor borders
    • Setting specific colours for links, factors and factor borders
    • Wrap factor/link labels
    • Cluster factors
    • Set print format
      • Layout
  • Smart zooming
  • 📚 Clustering sources
    • Unfiltered clusters
    • Filtered clusters
    • The clustering algorithm
    • Bundling links by cluster
    • Finding many solutions at once
  • Recalculate fields
  • Interpreting your results
  • 🧪Tables - advanced
    • Creating your table
    • Print view
    • Formatting your table
    • Saving your table
  • Top tips on coding
  • Level 5 quiz
  • The rest of the app
  • The Updates tab
  • The File Manager
  • Managing your subscription
  • 📚Spotlights
  • Spotlight
  • 📚 Causal Mapping: Definitions
    • What is a causal map? What is causal mapping?
    • Summary
  • 📚 Causal mapping for evaluators
    • Causal mapping for evaluators
    • Features which causal mapping approaches have in common
      • Causality
      • Modularity
    • Causal maps as a summary of qualitative data analysis of textual causal claims for each link
    • Causal mapping as a form of data collection
    • QuIP as a form of causal mapping
      • QuIP: explanations of changes do not themselves also have to be changes
    • Advantages of causal mapping
      • Induct
      • Discover
      • Distinguish
      • Present
      • Query
      • Quote
      • Reuse
    • When to use Causal Map
  • 📚 Causal Mapping and Outcome Harvesting
  • 📚 Context in causal mapping: how to code it
    • Using context in the Causal Map app
  • 📚 Beware the transitivity trap
    • The transitivity trap
    • Not just a problem for causal mapping
    • Can we mitigate the trap with careful elicitation protocols?
    • Transitivity trap, or identity trap?
  • 📚 Cases, variables and percentages in causal mapping?
  • 📚 Different kinds of question chaining, with QuIP and ParEvo as illustrations
    • Four options with Fixed versus Variable question chaining
    • Single versus multiple
    • Future in past, past in future
    • Closed vs open questions
    • Going both ways: bi-directional chaining
    • Evaluation
  • 📚 How to get to the shadow side: a problem with back-chaining
    • Concert example
    • Football example
    • One solution: pairs of initial questions
    • Solving the deeper problem
    • So what can we do?
      • Counterfactual worlds
      • Best solution?
      • Encoding the results
    • Conclusion
    • Finally …
  • 📚 The last minute principle
  • 📚 Causal maps, systems maps, what’s the difference? Does it matter?
    • What is the difference between a causal map and a systems map?
    • Are systems maps about systems?
  • 📚 Coding time in causal mapping
    • Temporal features which can emerge without explicit coding of time
    • Temporal information attached to additional data
    • Recording temporal information in causal links
    • Recording temporal information in factor labels
      • Use a hashtag or flag
      • Use components in hierarchical coding
      • Use higher-level temporal components in hierarchical coding
      • But what if factor labels themselves express changes?
    • Lateness
    • Analysing and displaying the results of temporal coding
  • More about coding opposites
    • Reversible?
      • Combining opposites and strengths
    • Graded factors: differences of degree
    • Philosophical discursion: coding with propositions
      • Zero influences.
  • 📚 Puzzles in causal mapping
    • Distinctive Groups
    • Quantity of Evidence
    • Joining rules
    • Does believing that X influences Y mean you have to believe that not-X causes not-Y? Causal mapping and counterfactuals.
    • Homogenity of paths
    • (non-) solution 1)
    • Solution 2)
    • Solution 3)
    • Solution 4)
    • Solution 5)
  • 📚 Is one direction enough?
  • Showcase: how the Causal Map app has been used
    • Reports
      • VOSCUR
      • World Food Programme
      • Power to Change
      • Global Young Academy: Tracing the paths of GYA’s impact
      • IFRC Nepal Meta-evaluation
  • Technical reference
  • Technical reference
  • Video list
  • Conventions
    • Formatting in this guide…
  • Screenshotting your maps
  • FAQs: Causal Map questions and troubleshooting
    • Logging in
    • Setting Up
    • Uploading and tweaking data
    • Coding
    • Known Bugs
    • QuIP questions
    • Downloads
  • 📚 Glossary
    • Generic terminology for causal mapping
  • Filter reference
  • How Causal Map is hosted
  • Reports tab
    • Sample
    • Hierarchy
    • Opposites
    • Rankings
    • Differences - questions
    • Differences - sample
    • Differences - sample
    • Differences - question
    • Hashtags
    • Custom
  • Core tables in Causal Map
    • The main five tables and the most important fields / columns
      • Factors
      • Links
      • Statements
      • Sources
      • Questions
      • Special case: Closed question blocks
  • Medals
  • Using the Advanced Editor to create and edit filters
  • Keyboard shortcuts
    • General
    • Factor Editor and Advanced Editor
      • Line operations
      • Selection
      • Multicursor
      • Go to
      • Find/Replace
      • Folding
      • Other
  • Causal Map functions
  • Causal mapping with Excel
  • Using StorySurvey: admin interface
    • Explorer
    • Map
    • Project recodes
    • Project settings
    • Project answers
    • Project questions
    • Project recodes ace: The recodes advanced editor
      • Basic idea
      • Full hierarchy
      • Making changes
      • Hiding factors
      • Recoding a factor into itself
      • The contents of the editor
      • Searching
  • Features of Causal Map
    • Main features of Causal Map
    • Additional new features in Causal Map 2
  • Recent changes
    • Version 0.81, 9/8/2022
      • Importing a simple, wide-format file
      • Bundling links
      • Improved percentage labels when calculating surprise
    • Version 0.80, 10/6/2022
      • Smart zoom
      • Collaboration
      • The Dashboard
      • Reports Tab
      • Document coding score!
      • Copying your map as a vector image
      • Clustering sources
      • Quickfields
      • Plain coding
      • New palettes for conditional formatting
      • Quick tails
      • Search for main drivers and/or outcomes
      • Filtering print view of tables
    • Version 0.78
      • The Gallery
      • Continuity
      • Quickfields
      • Other features
    • Version 0.75, 27/12/2021
      • Print view: exporting and zooming
      • Label links
      • Highlight factors without removing other factors
      • Printout (for example, printout of quotes) option in tables
      • Path tracing
      • Mark links for continuity (Print View only)
      • Show continuity
      • Roundtripping with the statements table
  • 📚Final section
  • Acknowledgements
  • Appendix: Publications and links
    • Publications
    • Presentations
    • Longer blog posts
    • ResearchGate
    • Resources and apps
    • Bibliography of selected causal mapping approaches
  • References
  • Causal Map

Guide to Causal Mapping

Editing factors and links

It is likely that you will need to regularly review and edit your links, and there are various ways to do this in the app. You can also delete factors and links in the same way, however you cannot delete factors or links when certain filters are applied such as combine opposites and zoom as these filters represent multiple factors as one factor label.

Editing links in the interactive tab

Click on the link you want to change in the interactive view. Make any adjustments in the left panel, e.g. change the influence factor (in the first box), and/or the consequence factor (in the second box). You can change the quoted text just by re-highlighting the correct passage in the statement panel above in the same way that you made the original highlight. Press the green Save button to finish editing.

image-20220809101957855

Editing factors in the interactive tab

To edit your factor labels in the interactive view, just click on the factor and then ‘edit factor’ to open the edit panel. Using this panel you can change the text of the individual factor or add a memo.

image-20220809103154241

Edit factors in the Factors table

To edit factors in the edit factors table, click on the row containing the factor you would like to alter. This will open the edit panel, as shown above. You can use the search function at the top of the factors table to find the factor you want to change.

Edit factors and links in the Links table

In the links table you can edit links and factors by clicking on the row containing the text you want to edit, this will open a panel asking what you want to do with this link. By clicking ‘edit interactive’ in this panel you will be able to edit the link in the left-hand side panel, where you originally coded the statement.

image-20220809103908583

You can also edit multiple factors using the factor editor tab.