A survey shows children who have encyclopedias in their homes earn better grades in school than children whose homes lack encyclopedias. The researcher concludes that having encyclopedias at home improves grades. This conclusion is erroneous primarily because the researcher has incorrectly

A. identified the independent variableB. identified the dependent variableC. inferred correlation from causationD. inferred causation from correlation

D. inferred causation from correlation

Explanation:

Causation is the condition that a change in one variable is the result of the other variable changing i. e., one variable causes the change in the other variable.

Correlation is the condition where the change in one variable causes the change in the variable but they may directly not influence each other. One variable may cause change in a different variable which causes a change in the other variable.

Here, it has been inferred that the reason for the children's better grades is the presence of an encyclopedia. However, a direct link between these two variables has not been established.

Hence, the answer is D. inferred causation from correlation.