| post hoc, ergo propter hoc, fallacy of | Reasoning that X caused Y simply because Y occurred after X.
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| causal claim | A statement that says or implies that one thing caused or causes another.
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| causal hypothesis | A statement put forth to explain the cause or effect of something, when the cause or effect has not been conclusively established.
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| cause-and-effect claim | See causal claim.
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| circularity | The property of a "causal" claim where the "cause" merely restates the effect.
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| common thread | In common-thread reasoning, multiple occurrences of a feature are said to be united by a single relevant common thread.
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| confusing explanations and excuses, fallacy of | Mistaking an explanation of something for an attempt to excuse it.
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| control group | See controlled cause-to-effect experiment.
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| controlled cause-to-effect experiment | An experiment designed to test whether something is a causal factor for a given effect. Basically, in such an experiment two groups are essentially alike, except that the members of one group, the experimental group, are exposed to the suspected causal factor, and the members of the other group, the control group, are not. If the effect is then found to occur with significantly more frequency in the experimental group, the suspected causal agent is considered a causal factor for the effect.
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| experimental group | See controlled cause-to-effect experiment.
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| hypothesis | A supposition offered as a starting point for further investigation.
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| nonexperimental cause-to-effect study | A study designed to test whether something is a causal factor for a given effect. Such studies are similar to controlled cause-to-effect experiments, except that the members of the experimental group are not exposed to the suspected causal agent by the investigators; instead, exposure has resulted from the actions or circumstances of the individuals themselves.
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| nonexperimental effect-to-cause study | A study designed to test whether something is a causal factor for a given effect. Such studies are similar to nonexperimental cause-to-effect studies, except that the members of the experimental group display the effect, as compared with a control group whose members do not display the effect. Finding that the suspected cause is significantly more frequent in the experimental group is reason for saying that the suspected causal agent is a causal factor in the population involved.
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| relevant difference | A relevant difference is one that is not unreasonable to suppose caused the feature in question.
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| statistical significance | To say that some finding is statistically significant at a given confidence level--say, .05--is essentially to say that the finding could have arisen by chance in only about five cases out of one hundred.
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