Concept information
Preferred term
spurious correlation
Definition
- In social science research, the idea of spurious correlation is taken to mean roughly that when two variables correlate, it is not because one is a direct cause of the other but rather because they are brought about by a third variable. This situation presents a major interpretative challenge to social science researchers, a challenge that is heightened by the difficulty of disentangling the various concepts associated with the idea of spurious correlation. [Source: Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics; Spurious Correlation]
Broader concept
Belongs to group
URI
https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/spurious_correlation
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