Discovering Causal Structure from Observations (Advanced Data Analysis from an Elementary Point of View)
Three-Toed Sloth 2013-04-25
Summary:
How do we get our causal graph? Comparing rival DAGs by testing selected conditional independence relations (or dependencies). Equivalence classes of graphs. Causal arrows never go away no matter what you condition on ("no causation without association"). The crucial difference between common causes and common effects: conditioning on common causes makes their effects independent, conditioning on common effects makes their causes dependent. Identifying colliders, and using them to orient arrows. Inducing orientation to enforce consistency. The SGS algorithm for discovering causal graphs; why it works. The PC algorithm: the SGS algorithm for lazy people. What about latent variables? Software: TETRAD and pcalg; examples of working with pcalg. Limits to observational causal discovery: universal consistency is possible (and achieved), but uniform consistency is not.
Reading: Notes, chapter 24