Postgraduate Course: Methods for Causal Inference (INFR11207)
Course Outline
| School | School of Informatics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Causal inference is an important emerging area in AI and data science allowing us to move away from merely associational statements towards cause-effect statements. Being able to develop and/or apply causal inference techniques has broad applications in social and biomedical sciences, e.g., in answering questions such as "How effective is a given treatment for curing/preventing a disease?" or "Which genetic variants can causally increase the risk of disease and hence be targeted by drugs?" or "What economic policy could have prevented the 2008 financial crisis?"
In this course we develop causal inference techniques to address the above questions. This is a relatively advanced course and students are expected to be familiar with foundations of probability, statistics and calculus (see "Other Requirements" box) |
| Course description |
The aims and the structure of the course are as follows:
- Estimating causal effects: Why correlations alone are misleading?
- Randomised trials vs observational data
- Part I: Causal Effect Estimation
- Rubin's framework: Potential outcomes with observed and unobserved confounders
- Pearl's framework: Structural causal models with observed and unobserved confounders
- Computer simulations and numerical exercises in Python
- Part II: Causal Discovery
- Constraint-based algorithms and Score-based algorithms
- Functional Causal Models
- Computer simulations and numerical exercises in Python
Teaching of the theory is followed by illustrative examples from biomedicine and social sciences, together with appropriate computer simulations and numerical exercise.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed
Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition (INFR11130) AND
Probability (MATH08066)
|
Co-requisites | It is RECOMMENDED that students also take
Probabilistic Modelling and Reasoning (INFR11134)
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| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Methods for Causal Inference (UG) (INFR11234)
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Other requirements | MSc students must register for this course, while Undergraduate students must register for INFR11234 instead.
This course is open to all MSc and MInf students at School of Informatics, including those on joint degrees. The course is also available to MSc students at School of Mathematics (e.g. MSc Statistics and Data Science).
Maths requirements:
1. Linear algebra: Vectors, matrices: addition, multiplication, inversion, diagonalization (eigenvectors).
2. Special functions: properties and combination rules for logarithm and exponential.
3. Calculus: Differentiation and integration.
4. Probability theory: Discrete and continuous univariate random variables. Expectation, variance. Univariate Gaussian distribution. Joint and conditional distributions.
Programming requirements:
Students should be familiar with programming in a modern object-oriented language, ideally Python which is the course language. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | As above. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
69 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
80 %,
Coursework
20 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exam 80%
Coursework 20% |
| Feedback |
- Questions on material during the lectures will be discussed
- Two feedback sessions within lecture hours, after each of the two course assignments (one formative, one summative)
- Feedback on the work during tutorials
- Weekly online quiz on Learn, with solutions provided after answering the questions (not assessed)
- Course forum on Learn for students to ask questions |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Methods for Causal Inference PG (INFR11207) UG (INFR11234) | 2:120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- explain the difference between causal and associational estimation and justify why causal inference techniques are necessary to derive meaning from observational data
- explain the difference between randomised trials vs observational studies related to public health and other types of data more generally
- learn and apply foundational causal estimation techniques using two major frameworks: (i) Rubin's Potential Outcomes and (ii) Pearls Structural (graphical) causal models to simulated examples and real world data, in the presence of observed and unobserved variables
- explain different types of causal discovery algorithm, learn their underlying assumptions and short-comings, and be able to apply them to data using available software
- modify / repurpose a current technique in order to apply it to a particular problem of interest
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Reading List
Books that may be useful but not required:
1) Causal Inference in Statistics: A Primer (Pearl, Glymour, Jewell, 2016).
2) Elements of Causal Inference: Foundations and Learning Algorithms (by Peters, Janzing and Schölkopf
3) More advanced: Causality (Pearl, 2009) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Problem-solving, critical / analytical thinking, independent learning and cross-cultural or cross-disciplinary communication |
| Keywords | Causal inference,causal discovery,data science,probability and statistics,Machine Learning,MCI |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ava Khamseh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1426
Email: Ava.khamseh@igmm.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Lindsay Seal
Tel: (0131 6)50 5194
Email: lindsay.seal@ed.ac.uk |
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