Can correlation be used to determine cause and effect?

Correlation cannot be used to determine cause and effect. Correlation simply indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables, but it does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between them.

There may be other factors at play that are causing both variables to change or they may be completely unrelated. Therefore, it is important to be cautious when interpreting correlations and to use other methods, such as experiments, to establish causation.

To establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables, a researcher needs to conduct experiments or quasi-experiments that manipulate one variable and measure the effect on the other variable. This can help establish whether changes in one variable cause changes in the other variable.

In summary, correlation is a useful tool to identify the presence of a relationship between two variables, but it does not provide evidence of causation. Establishing causation requires additional research methods beyond correlation.