Directed Acyclic Graphs
A tool for causal inference
Module
We learned about different kinds of Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) and how they can be used in causal inference to make one's causal reasoning transparent.
What I Learned
I learned how this technique might be applied to my own research. One theory underlying my findings is that sociopolitical events (e.g., introducing laws) shifts social norms over time which in turn shift peoples' prejudices on a large scale.
Activity
We were instructed to create our own (silly) DAGs as part of the activity. We gained practical knowledge about translating our causal theory into types of variables and variable relationships. The resulting DAG gave us something which could be tested and falsified.
Goal: Science Communication
I learned about the field of causal inference specifically in reference to non-experimental research. I learned about one of the tools used in causal inference and how that applies to my own research.