ABSTRACT
The analysis of data can be ambiguous if the basis of the investigation is skewed toward supporting a particular point of view. Force-field analysis is a method for clarifying the dynamics of a situation by treating it as a system, identifying key elements within the situation and by working on them, making it possible to introduce change or movement into the situation. The Ishikawa diagram is a systematic technique for identifying the possible root causes of problems over a period of time. Why/Why diagrams serve the same purpose as the Ishikawa/Fishbone/ cause and effect approach. Influence diagrams are linked to Ishikawa and Why/Why but different in that they attempt to arrange the components of the problem into a causal flow of events connected by arrows. Apart from mapping the problem, the idea is to identify cycles which are vicious and reinforcing, and rebuild them or replace them with virtuous, reinforcing ones.
