Keep Causality Claims Honest
Phrase analytics findings so causal strength matches the evidence.
The reframe: honest claims can still be actionable. Match wording to evidence design A randomized test can support stronger causal language than a retrospective comparison. A clean cohort comparison can support association and direction. A dashboard trend can support observation and hypothesis generation. Separate finding from recommendation The finding says what the evidence shows. The recommendation says what to do next given the evidence, risk, and reversibility. A limited rollout or follow-up experiment can be appropriate even when causality is not proven. Use calibrated verbs Observed, concentrated in, associated with, consistent with, suggests, supports testing, and caused are not interchangeable.…
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