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Mediation Analysis
“Knowing that something works does not reveal the path through which it changed the outcome.”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
Mediation aims to separate direct and indirect effect pathways through an intermediate variable. A causal reading requires extra assumptions, especially about confounding of the mediator and outcome.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
Tutoring might improve grades partly by increasing study time; study time is a proposed mediator.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
A coefficient shrinking after adding a mediator does not by itself prove a causal mechanism.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
Treat mediation as a causal question with assumptions, not an automatic coefficient subtraction.