Question

Does the correlation between variables imply causation ? Explain

Answer 1

No, we can never tell that correlation is equal to causation. It is a common misconception when looking at data tables.

For instance, if we have a table that shows a correlation of scores on two tests in a row. We may see that there is a correlation between the two numbers. Students who did well on the first test may have done well on the second as well, and those who have not done well on the first may have done poorly on the second.

However, doing bad on the first test does not cause someone to do bad on the second one. Likely the cause is their studying habits, intelligence or aptitude in the area.

So in this example, there is correlation between the sets of data, but it does not prove causation.