Fig 1.
Thermostat room temperature regulation as a (simplified) example of a causal loop diagram.
Fig 2.
Overview of the described methodology, consisting of four iterative building blocks and continuously requiring the researchers to adopt a transdisciplinary approach and to be aware of their disciplinary biases.
Table 1.
Overview of the guideline and the timing of each step throughout the process.
Table 2.
Coding examples.
Fig 3.
Example of a mental model of an interviewee, visualizing the elements and connections which came up during the interview and which are perceived to be true by the interviewee. The researcher tried to bring some first structure in the model by using a color code.
Fig 4.
Different ways of visualizing a system.
The elements and connections in A and B are exactly the same. In A the system is organized according to the different layers ranging from biology on the micro level to the individual level, the social context, the healthcare system and overarching factors at the macro level. In B, the elements are divided in thematic clusters and the relationships between clusters are visualized. Figure adapted from Kiekens et al. [19] and for illustrative purposes only.
Fig 5.
Illustration of mapping choices to be made by the researchers and the consequences for the in-degree metric.
Fig 6.
A) Detailed system of factors influencing HIVDR. The main feedback loops or subsystems are highlighted with colored circles. B) The same system, condensed into the main feedback loops and with the main exogenous factors represented on the outside. Each cluster in panel A is represented as a single element in panel B, represented with the same color in the core of the element. All connections between two clusters in panel A are represented as one connection in panel B. This way, the main dynamics of the system are represented in a more condensed and comprehensible format. Figure adapted from Kiekens et al. [19] and for illustrative purposes only.
Table 3.
Dynamic characteristics of CASs.