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Encyclopedia > Lurking variable
This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please check the article for inaccuracies and modify as needed, citing sources.

A variable that is not explicitly part of a model but affects the way the variable in the model appears to be related is called a lurking variable. Because we can never be certain that observational data are not hiding a lurking variable that influences both x and y, it is never safe to conclude that a linear model demonstrates a casual relationship, no matter how strong the linear association.


  Results from FactBites:
 
Lurking variable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (379 words)
A lurking variable (confounding factor or variable, or simply a confound or confounder) is a "hidden" variable in a statistical or research model that affects the variables in question but is not known or acknowledged, and thus (potentially) distorts the resulting data.
This hidden third variable causes the two measured variables to falsely appear to be in a causal relation.
In statistical experimental design, attempts are made to remove lurking variables such as the placebo effect from the experiment.
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