Reference / Tools and sources
Tools, templates and sources
What to print and what to cite
The Design Framework, the conversion prompt, the coding sheets and the kit list, with the sources this course rests on and a glossary.
Glossary
Definitions follow the source guidance and the taxonomies. Where a term appears on another page, this is the reference version.
| Term | Working definition |
|---|---|
| Participatory systems mapping | Building a visual representation of a complex system together with stakeholders who hold knowledge of it, in order to explore and document perceived causal relations between its elements. |
| Causal loop diagram (CLD) | A qualitative map of a system's structure. Elements are written as factors that can increase or decrease, and each connection carries a polarity sign. Its purpose is to surface feedback. |
| Reinforcing loop | A feedback loop that reinvests change as further change in the same direction. It has an even number of negative links. |
| Balancing loop | A feedback loop that resists change and holds the status quo. It has an odd number of negative links. |
| Leverage point | A place in a system where a small shift produces substantial change. There is no single accepted method for locating one; loop reading, network analysis and expert judgement are all used. |
| Persona | A named position in the system, walked through the pathway. Includes staff, referrers and unpaid carers, not only people who use the service. |
| Journey map | The sequence of steps a persona takes from first contact to exit, with the designed pathway and the lived pathway recorded separately. |
| Touch point | A point on the journey where a persona feels something. Each one carries information about the system, and each usually implies variables. |
| Determinant | A factor that influences the target behaviour, located in an established framework: a TDF domain at the individual level, a CFIR construct at the organisational level. |
| Mechanism of action | The process through which a technique produces change. Not a separate framework: the list of 26 used by the Theory and Techniques Tool is the 14 TDF domains plus 12 further constructs from a set of 83 theories of behaviour change (Carey et al. 2019). Mechanisms are named rather than assumed. |
| Behaviour change technique (BCT) | A discrete, observable component of an intervention, named and numbered in BCT taxonomy v1: 93 techniques in 16 clusters. Named from its taxonomy so that someone outside the team can recognise what was done. |
| Implementation strategy | A discrete method for adopting, sustaining or scaling an intervention, named in the ERIC taxonomy: 73 strategies in nine clusters. Named from its taxonomy so that someone outside the team can recognise what was done. |
| Logic model | A specification of inputs, activities, short-term outcomes, medium-term behaviour change and impact, with every row labelled by the evidence it rests on. |
The conversion prompt
The prompt below carries the journey map to causal loop diagram step. It is a template, and the five house rules for the library apply.
INPUT: [the consolidated journey map and coded material]
TASK
1. Convert the map into variables. Each variable must be a quantity that can
rise or fall, not an activity or a person. Rewrite anything that is not.
2. Propose causal links as: A affects B, with the direction and any delay.
3. For each link, cite the material that supports it. Do not add a link
because the diagram looks better with it.
4. Identify the feedback loops and label each reinforcing or balancing,
naming the loop after its main variable.
5. Find the most connected variables, and say what they connect.
6. Mark weakly supported links, and links that follow only from team reasoning.
7. State what the diagram does not show: people, money, time, and anything
outside the boundary you chose.Run the output through the traceability check before use. The check keeps the rest honest, and it is the one prompt worth keeping if a team uses only one.
Sources
- The guidance. Blake, C. and Rigby, B. et al. (2024) Participatory systems mapping for population health research, policy and practice: guidance on method choice and design. University of Glasgow. DOI 10.36399/gla.pubs.316563. Free to download.
- The Design Framework. The tool inside the guidance: 13 questions in three considerations, on the scope of the project, the added value of participation, and the capacity to use a method. An editable version is a supplementary file.
- BCT taxonomy v1. Michie, S. et al. (2013). The 93-technique taxonomy. The reference list for naming what an intervention does.
- ERIC. Powell, B.J. et al. (2015). Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change: 73 implementation strategies in nine clusters, each with an operational definition.
- The CFIR-ERIC matching tool. Waltz, T.J. et al. (2019). A decision-support tool mapping 39 CFIR barriers to ERIC strategies, tiered by expert endorsement. Available through the CFIR technical assistance site.
- The Theory and Techniques Tool. The linkage resource for moving from mechanisms of action to behaviour change techniques.
Cite the first four with the version you used. The two matching tools are consensus products, revised over time, so record the version or access date, and the tier of each recommendation.
What this page set does not cover
- Non-participatory mapping. The guidance covers methods that involve stakeholders. Mapping from documents alone is a different job with different limits.
- Soft systems methods. Rich pictures, mind maps and other non-causal representations sit outside the guidance and outside this course.
- The other five methods in detail. This course teaches the causal loop diagram route. Choosing between the six methods belongs to the methods page.
- Simulation. Stock and flow diagrams, system dynamics models and their equations are not taught here. A causal loop diagram can be a first step towards one, but that step is not in this course.
- Quantitative analysis of the map. Anything beyond counting links and reading loops: centrality statistics, propagation analysis, and the software behind them.
- Evaluation design. The logic model states what you expect and how you would measure it. The study that tests it is a separate course.
Check your understanding & apply it · 4 questions, 2 essays
1Which glossary term describes a feedback loop that resists change and holds the status quo?
Answer C. A balancing loop resists change and has an odd number of negative links; a reinforcing loop reinvests change in the same direction and has an even number. A leverage point is a place where a small shift produces substantial change, and a mechanism of action is the process through which an intervention produces change.
2You need the reference list for naming what an intervention does, with technique numbers and published labels. Which source do you use?
Answer D. The taxonomy supplies the numbers and labels, and on this page it is stated as 93 techniques in 16 clusters. The guidance and its Design Framework are about method choice and design, and the matching tool maps organisational barriers to strategies.
3You want to move from a mechanism of action to candidate behaviour change techniques. Which resource is for that job?
Answer A. The Theory and Techniques Tool is the linkage resource for moving from mechanisms of action to behaviour change techniques. The CFIR-ERIC tool works at the organisational level, mapping barriers to implementation strategies, and the Design Framework is the tool inside the method guidance for choosing and designing a project.
4You are selecting an implementation strategy for a coded CFIR barrier, and you need to know how strongly the expert panel endorsed each option. Which source do you use, and what do you record?
Answer B. The matching tool maps 39 CFIR barriers to ERIC strategies and tiers each pairing by expert endorsement, so it is the source that carries the endorsement. Because the matching tools are consensus products revised over time, you record the version or access date and the tier of each recommendation.
5Essay A colleague uses four terms loosely: determinant, mechanism of action, behaviour change technique, implementation strategy. Write the four definitions they should be using, naming the source that supplies the labels for each of the last two.
A determinant is a factor that influences the target behaviour, located in an established framework: a Theoretical Domains Framework domain at the individual level, a CFIR construct at the organisational level. A mechanism of action is the process through which a technique produces change. It is not a separate framework: the list of 26 used by the Theory and Techniques Tool is the 14 TDF domains plus 12 further constructs from a set of 83 theories of behaviour change, so a determinant coded to a domain usually has a matching mechanism entry. A behaviour change technique is a discrete, observable component of an intervention, named and numbered in behaviour change technique taxonomy version 1, which holds 93 techniques in 16 clusters. An implementation strategy is a discrete method for adopting, sustaining or scaling an intervention, named in the ERIC taxonomy, which holds 73 strategies in nine clusters. Both are named from their taxonomy so that someone outside the team can recognise what was done.
6Essay A colleague is drafting a methods section and needs to cite three things: the method guidance, the tool that maps barriers to implementation strategies, and the resource that links mechanisms of action to techniques. Name the source for each and state exactly what must be recorded when they are cited.
The method guidance is the participatory systems mapping guidance (Blake and Rigby et al. 2024), cited with the version used. The barrier-to-strategy source is the CFIR-ERIC matching tool, which maps 39 CFIR barriers to ERIC strategies and tiers each pairing by expert endorsement; because it is a consensus product revised over time, record the version or access date and the tier of every recommendation you report. The link from mechanisms of action to behaviour change techniques comes from the Theory and Techniques Tool, with the technique numbers and labels taken from behaviour change technique taxonomy version 1. The guidance, the taxonomy and ERIC are cited with the version used.