Hills Criteria of Causation outlines the minimal conditions needed to establish a causal relationship between two items. These criteria were originally presented by Austin Bradford Hill (1897-1991), a British medical statistician, as a way of determining the causal link between a specific factor (e.g., cigarette smoking) and a disease (such as emphysema or lung cancer). Hill's Criteria form the basis of modern epidemiological research, which attempts to establish scientifically valid causal connections between potential disease agents and the many diseases that afflict humankind. While the criteria established by Hill (and elaborated by others) were developed as a research tool in the medical sciences, they are equally applicable to sociology, anthropology and other social sciences, which attempt to establish causal relationships among social phenomena. Indeed, the principles set forth by Hill form the basis of evaluation used in all modern scientific research.
"Hills Criteria of Causation." http://www.drabruzzi.com/hills_criteria_of_causation.htm
Austin Bradford Hill, “The Environment and Disease: Association or Causation?,” Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 58 (1965): 295-300.