Hello
My first go at a posting.
One of the issues here is that of how many black boxes you want to open. Whenever you pick out one causative mechanism there are others within it. So there
are various reasons why being housed will increase wellbeing. For example, it increases a sense of security. And then there will be a reason why sense of security increases wellbeing. And so on. So the point at which you stop depends on your purpose in
creating the generative model. It could be that the obvious intuition you have that being housed will increase wellbeing is widely shared and agreed by the audience for your work – in which case, no further breaking down of mechanisms is required. But if
it is doubted, you have to open a few more black boxes until you reach a point that is agreed. I don’t think you will ever reach bedrock, just an enough-for-now point. I think this is as much pragmatist as realist but I consider myself far more realist than
pragmatist mainly because I think of the mechanisms as real rather than as (simply) pragmatically useful.
Best wishes
Peter
From: Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joanne Greenhalgh
Sent: 02 March 2016 15:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Boundaries of generative causation
Hi Steve
Thanks for posting. An interesting question. Some immediate thoughts:
My reading of this is that ‘being housed leads to an increase in mental well-being’ is a proposition that posits a relationship between
two variables (housing status and mental health status). What is missing is the ‘how and why’ does being housed lead to an increase in mental well being – ie what’s missing is the mechanism.
So, what is it about being housed that improves people’s mental well being? I know this seems obvious – ‘of course people feel better
when they are housed’… but why is that? Through what mechanism(s) does being housed lead to an improvement in someone’s mental well-being? Similarly, what is it about being housed that enables people to choose healthier lifestyles? You can see housing as
a resource, mental health/healthier lifestyle is an outcome – what’s the mechanism through which housing influences mental health/health lifestyles?
Hope this helps a little. Am sure the more philosophically inclined will have something to say. And am sure people will have a different
take on this too.
Best wishes
Joanne
From: Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Steve Rolfe
Sent: 02 March 2016 14:20
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Boundaries of generative causation
Hi
I'm in the early stages of a research project, looking at the potential health impacts of social enterprise in the housing/homelessness field. I'm planning to take a Realist approach to both the
evidence review and fieldwork aspects of the project (combined with elements of Theories of Change, as I've done on a previous project).
I'm just developing some rough theories to act as starting points for a realist review of the interactions between housing/homelessness and health, and some of the ideas I've come up with don't
seem to fit with the notion of generative causation. So, for example, one rough theory might be that becoming housed enables people to choose healthier lifestyle options, which seems like a clear case of generative causation. However, it also seems intuitively
obvious that becoming housed will lead to an increase in mental wellbeing, which to my mind doesn't seem to fit easily with generative causation - the increase in mental wellbeing doesn't seem to rely on the capacities or decisions of the individual, rather
the fact of being housed might make them feel better.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I thinking about it in the wrong way, or are there outcomes in situations like this which don't necessarily rely on generative causation?
Many thanks
Steve
Steve Rolfe
Commonhealth Research Fellow
School of Social Sciences
University of Stirling
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