Questions of cause and effect should be answered at the same level of analysis at which they were posed.

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This principle, known as the principle of parsimony, is a fundamental principle of scientific and logical inquiry. It states that explanations for phenomena should be kept as simple as possible while still accounting for all available evidence. Applying this principle to causal relationships means that we should look for explanations of causation at the same level of analysis at which the causal relationship was observed. For example, if we observe a correlation between two variables at the individual level, we should look for explanations of the causal relationship at the individual level, rather than jumping to explanations at the group or societal level. This helps to avoid inferential errors and ensure that our explanations are based on empirical evidence.

Questions of Cause and Effect Should Be Answered at the Same