Causal inference

thumb|Apollo 15 astronaut [[David Scott performs a gravity test on the Moon with a hammer and feather (1971).]] thumb|right|160px|Even very young children perform rudimentary experiments to learn about the world and how things work.

method of reasoning in which a body of observations is synthesized to hypothesize a general principle

experimental method designed to reduce bias, typically accomplished by randomly allocating subjects to two or more groups, with one being a control group

probabilistic graphical model that represents a set of variables and their conditional dependencies via a directed acyclic graph

phenomenon in probability and statistics, in which a trend appears in several different groups of data but disappears or reverses when these groups are combined

latin phrase

class=skin-invert-image|thumb|upright=1.3|Whereas a mediator is a factor in the causal chain (above), a confounder is a spurious factor incorrectly implying causation (bottom)

selection of individuals, groups or data for analysis such that proper randomization is not achieved

process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an effect

social sciences statistical technique that mimics an experimental research design using observational study data by studying the differential effect of a treatment on a 'treatment group' versus a 'control group' in a natural experiment

statistical method in genetic epidemiology

extent to which a piece of evidence supports a claim about cause and effect

validity of applying the conclusions of a scientific study outside the context of that study

method of statistical analysis

statistical variable

process involving chance used in research for allocating experimental subjects to groups

technique for solving the problems that are caused by making causal inferences on the basis of only a small number of cases

statistical matching technique to estimate an intervention’s effect by accounting for the covariates that predict receiving the treatment, reducing the bias due to confounding variables

experiment conducted outside the laboratory