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Graphical model: Whereas a mediator is a factor in the causal chain (top), a confounder is a spurious factor incorrectly implying causation (bottom). In statistics, a spurious relationship or spurious correlation [1] [2] is a mathematical relationship in which two or more events or variables are associated but not causally related, due to either coincidence or the presence of a certain third ...
The correlation coefficient is +1 in the case of a perfect direct (increasing) linear relationship (correlation), −1 in the case of a perfect inverse (decreasing) linear relationship (anti-correlation), [5] and some value in the open interval (,) in all other cases, indicating the degree of linear dependence between the variables. As it ...
The difference in these decay behaviors, where correlations between microscopic random variables become zero versus non-zero at large distances, is one way of defining short- versus long-range order. In statistical mechanics, the correlation function is a measure of the order in a system, as characterized by a mathematical correlation function ...
A correlation coefficient is a numerical measure of some type of linear correlation, meaning a statistical relationship between two variables. [ a ] The variables may be two columns of a given data set of observations, often called a sample , or two components of a multivariate random variable with a known distribution .
[1] [2] [3] The existence of confounders is an important quantitative explanation why correlation does not imply causation. Some notations are explicitly designed to identify the existence, possible existence, or non-existence of confounders in causal relationships between elements of a system. Confounders are threats to internal validity. [4]
For example, suppose a researcher wishes to estimate the causal effect of smoking (X) on general health (Y). [5] Correlation between smoking and health does not imply that smoking causes poor health because other variables, such as depression, may affect both health and smoking, or because health may affect smoking.
Notably, correlation is dimensionless while covariance is in units obtained by multiplying the units of the two variables. If Y always takes on the same values as X , we have the covariance of a variable with itself (i.e. σ X X {\displaystyle \sigma _{XX}} ), which is called the variance and is more commonly denoted as σ X 2 , {\displaystyle ...
Risk factors or determinants are correlational and not necessarily causal, because correlation does not prove causation. For example, being young cannot be said to cause measles , but young people have a higher rate of measles because they are less likely to have developed immunity during a previous epidemic.