Evidence-appraisal glossary
Bradford Hill criteria
The Bradford Hill criteria are a set of considerations, such as strength, consistency, temporality, and dose-response, used to judge whether an observed association is likely to be causal. They are aids to reasoning, not a checklist that proves causation.
Also called: Hill criteria, Bradford Hill considerations, Hill viewpoints.
Epidemiologists weigh these viewpoints together when a controlled experiment is not possible, giving particular weight to temporality, since a cause must come before its effect. Hill himself warned against treating them as hard rules, and no fixed count of satisfied items establishes cause. They structure judgment about causation rather than replacing it.
This is a plain-language methodology definition for reading research. It is general education, not medical advice.