Countering the Curse of Dimensionality: Exploring Data-generating Mechanisms Through Participant Observation and Mechanistic Modeling.
Countering the Curse of Dimensionality: Exploring Data-generating Mechanisms Through Participant Observation and Mechanistic Modeling.
复制标题
对抗维度的诅咒：通过参与者观察和机制建模探索数据生成机制。
DOI：
10.1097/ede.0000000000001025
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发表时间：
2019
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Eisenberg,JosephNS
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hubbard,Alan;Trostle,James;Cangemi,Ivan;Eisenberg,JosephNS
图.通过系统的机械探索促进因果推理。A.公共卫生所关注的结果是由复杂的机制网络形成的。例如，人口流动可以影响病原体传播并受其驱动，而病原体传播可以改变社交网络的结构和动态，这反过来又可以影响社区采用增进健康的行为规范的能力。44 B，理清这些机制以查明原因是一项严峻的分析挑战。例如，面对维度灾难，研究人员必须依赖外部关于数据生成机制的假设来选择关键变量，从而减少问题的维度。通过将研究人员置于系统动力学中，参与者观察促进了一个连续的，反应性的反事实推理过程，没有预定的变量和严格的研究设计。相反，研究人员从不同的角度积累了潜在的相关机制的看法和经验。D，与机械建模相结合，参与者观察可以通过指导跨不同观察上下文的候选数据生成机制的探索来促进因果推理（“可移植性”）。45
FIGURE. Facilitating causal inference through systematic mechanistic exploration. A, Outcomes of interest to public health are shaped by complex networks of mechanisms. For example, population circulation can affect and be driven by pathogen transmission, and pathogen transmission can alter the structure and dynamics of social networks, which in turn can influence the capacity of communities to adopt health-enhancing behavioral norms. 44 B, Disentangling these mechanisms to ascertain causes presents serious analytical challenges. Faced with the curse of dimensionality, for instance, researchers must rely on assumptions from the outside concerning data-generating mechanisms to select key variables and thereby reduce the dimension of the problem. C, By placing researchers inside system dynamics, participant observation promotes a process of continuous, responsive counterfactual reasoning, without predetermined variables and rigid study designs. Instead, researchers accumulate perceptions and experiences of potentially relevant mechanisms from diverse perspectives. D, Combined with mechanistic modeling, participant observation can facilitate causal inference by guiding the exploration of candidate data-generating mechanisms across different contexts of observation (“transportability”). 45