  Detailed applications of minisuperspace methods are presented and compared
with results obtained in recent years by means of causal dynamical
triangulations (CDTs), mainly in the form of effective actions. The analysis
sheds light on conceptual questions such as the treatment of time or the role
and scaling behavior of statistical and quantum fluctuations. In the case of
fluctuations, several analytical and numerical results show agreement between
the two approaches and offer possible explanations of effects that have been
seen in causal dynamical triangulations but whose origin remained unclear. The
new approach followed here suggests `CDT experiments' in the form of new
simulations or evaluations motivated by theoretical predictions, testing CDTs
as well as the minisuperspace approximation.
