Causal Analysis:
Simple Relationships
In a simple relationship, there is a one to one relationship between cause and effect. For example:
- Putting new bird feeders in the back yard caused more birds to come to our yard.
Cause (Feeders) → Effect (Birds visiting) - The effect of not keeping the bird feeders filled is that the birds stop coming.
Effect (Not filling feeders) → Cause (No more birds)
Unfortunately, life is not usually that simple. Causes and effects are inter-related. For example, the type of seed used in the bird feeder will effect the type of birds that visit"”as will the feeder itself. Having a fence to sit on also has an effect on how the birds use the feeder. The feeder is also next to the fence and not the pool because having birds too close to the pool would cause undesirable consequences to the water.
