Dear All,
Perhaps I did not express myself as clearly as I should have done on correlation. I gave examples on the relation between correlation and causality and I also stated a general rule. I did not state it as clearly as I might have done.
Let me state the rule more succinctly. An instance of correlation gives us reason to wonder what relationship may exist between two variables. Research involves determining the nature of that relationship.
All instances of causality involve correlation. Few instances of correlation demonstrate causality. There even exist cases of perfect correlation that show no causation — this is the case of tautologies and the case of identity. To demonstrate causality, correlation is necessary but not sufficient.
To move beyond correlation to the larger discussion of causality is really more than I can manage. Fortunately, The Oxford Handbook of Causation offers good summary articles on many issues involved in causality (Beebee, Hitchcock, and Menzies 2009).
http://www.amazon.com/The-Oxford-Handbook-Causation-Handbooks/dp/0199642583
Yours,
Ken
Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Editor-in-Chief | 设计 She Ji. The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation | Published by Elsevier in Cooperation with Tongji University Press | Launching in 2015
Chair Professor of Design Innovation Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| University Distinguished Professor | Centre for Design Innovation | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia
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Beebee, Helen, Christopher Hitchcock, and Peter Menzies, eds. 2009. The Oxford Handbook of Causation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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