Causal Relationship in Research Design

Causality is the relationship between cause and effect. Simple cause-and-effect connections are often linear and unidirectional, where one event leads directly to another. However, in complex systems, such as organizations, causality involves circular relationships, interdependent systems, and non-linearity. In non-linear relationships, a single variable can have a disproportionately large impact on another due to intricate interconnections. This complexity can blur the distinction between cause and effect, making it difficult to identify or track them over time and space, sometimes causing the links between them to become obscure or practically disappear.

Philosophically, causality (or causation) refers to all possible “cause-and-effect” relations between events, properties, variables, or situations. Causation, in its broadest sense, is the relationship where one occurrence influences another. Historically, three core principles, as described by Max Born (1949), have defined causality until the 20th century:

1. Causality: The existence of laws by which an entity B depends on the occurrence of entity A, where A is the cause, and B is the effect.
2. Antecedence: The cause must occur before or at the same time as the effect.
3. Contiguity: The cause and effect must be in spatial contact or linked by an intermediate chain.

Causality always suggests a relationship of dependence between cause and effect. For example, if a cause occurs, the likelihood of the effect happening either increases or becomes certain, assuming all other factors remain equal. However, advances in physics, particularly in relativity and quantum mechanics, have shown that these assumptions don’t hold at the fundamental levels of reality, though they still apply at the human experiential level (Sowa, 2000).

Expressing Causal Relationships

In everyday language, causal relationships are conveyed through specific expressions:

1. Causative Verbs: Verbs like “cause,” “make,” “create,” “produce,” “provoke,” “influence,” “initiate,” and “induce” express direct or indirect cause. These words denote actions that lead to an effect, such as “make” and “cause” or verbs indicating prevention like “restrain” or “stop.”
2. Causative Nouns: Nouns such as “actor,” “creator,” “originator,” “reason,” “motive,” “impulse,” and “source” are used to identify the origin of an effect or the entity responsible for it.
3. Effect-Related Nouns: Words like “consequence,” “result,” “outcome,” “impact,” “influence,” and “product” express the results or outcomes produced by a cause. These terms define what follows from an initial action or condition.