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Software Engineering vocabulary · Machine Learning and Data Processing

Causation

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/kɔːˈzeɪʃən/nounCommon term

In software engineering, causation means: A relationship in which a change in one thing directly produces a change in another, rather than the two simply moving together.

In Turkish: nedensellik, neden-sonuç ilişkisi

How it is used

Most often heard in the phrase 'correlation does not imply causation'. Analysts establish causation with controlled experiments such as A/B tests, or with careful causal inference methods. The adjective is 'causal'.

Example sentences

  1. Users who watch the tutorial stay longer, but we can't claim causation without a test.

  2. The A/B test finally gave us evidence of causation, not just correlation.

Common collocations

  • correlation and causation
  • establish causation
  • evidence of causation
  • imply causation
  • correlationA relationship between two variables in which they tend to change together, often measured by a coefficient from -1 to 1, where 0 means no linear relationship.
  • A/B testAn experiment in which users are randomly split into two groups that see different versions of something, so you can measure which version performs better.
  • control groupThe group in an experiment that does not get the change being tested, so its results show what would have happened without that change.
  • hypothesisA specific, testable statement about what you expect to happen and why, written down before an experiment or analysis starts.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Machine Learning and Data Processing

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