Counter factual data

Counterfactual data is a created and collected as a result of asking "what if" questions, or considering alternative histories for a given outcome or event. The generation of counterfactual data involves the use of fiction to facilitate the psychological safety required to explore complex and potentially uncomfortable topics or events.

A counterfactual is an imagined alternatives generated by considering what might have been had a few crucial details in a chronology of events, been altered. Considering what details participants chose to alter in creating a counterfactual can be informative as it is likely to indicate perceptions of what contextual elements are more readily changed, and which are perceived as being less changeable.

Related Concepts

See Future backwards for an exploration of side casting