In these types of studies, one variable is the explanatory variable, and the other is the response variable. To establish a cause-and-effect relationship, we want to make sure the explanatory variable...In these types of studies, one variable is the explanatory variable, and the other is the response variable. To establish a cause-and-effect relationship, we want to make sure the explanatory variable is the only thing that impacts the response variable. The influence of confounding variables on the response variable is one of the reasons that an observational study gives weak, and potentially misleading, evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship.
