Carnegie Mellon University
Browse

N-1 Experiments Suffice to Determine the Causal Relations Among N Variables

journal contribution
posted on 2004-12-07, 00:00 authored by Frederick Eberhardt, Clark Glymour, Richard Scheines
By combining experimental interventions with search procedures for graphical causal models we show that under familiar assumptions, with perfect data, N - 1 experiments suffice to determine the causal relations among N > 2 variables when each experiment randomizes at most one variable. We show the same bound holds for adaptive learners, but does not hold for N > 4 when each experiment can simultaneously randomize more than one variable. This bound provides a type of ideal for the measure of success of heuristic approached in active learning methods of casual discovery, which currently use less informative measures.

History

Publisher Statement

All Rights Reserved

Date

2004-12-07

Usage metrics

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC