Modelling Basics

Question 1

Communication

Answer 1

a process where a source (you) communicates information by some medium (verbally, text) to one or more receivers. the receiver must then decide and extract meaning from it.

Question 2

Concepts

Answer 2

internal mental representations

the building blocks of reality

Question 3

Conceptual Definitions

Answer 3

Clear and concise definitions of ones concepts

Define do not provide examples

Question 4

Conceptual Systems

Answer 4

when two or more concepts are connected to show a relationship (the shirt lies on the table) it forms a conceptual system, allowing us to reach a deeper level of understanding than the simple concepts on their own

Question 5

Consensual Validation

Answer 5

Conceptualization is judge based on how well it is accepted by others.

Question 6

Constructs

Answer 6

concepts clustered together under broader constructs. Broader to understand larger portions of reality simply.
Animals -> reptiles -> frogs -> tree frogs -> etc

Question 7

Criteria of a Good Model

Answer 7

• Recognising ignorance and testing for assumptions in order to gain full scope of understanding in potential predictions
• Keeping it simple due to unknowns involved
• Being transparent about potential biases, taking differing perspectives into account, being honest with the validity of the outcomes
• Beinf transparent about lack of absolute answers to come from models
• Models do not give answers, they guide further questions

Question 8

Expert Validation

Answer 8

Judged by whether people seem as experts determine if it’s right or wrong

Question 9

How Models are Developed

Answer 9

• Observation and generation of ideas
• Identifying, organizing, and differentiating concepts, constructs, and causal relationships
• (Thought) experiments, reasoning, and argumentation

Question 10

Hypothesis

Answer 10

The focal problem statement

• derived from a theoretical Expression
• more concrete than original expression
• result of instantaion: limited in scope and more specific
• tied to empirical reply to allow for testing

Question 11

Identification

Answer 11

we are able to understand something when we can identify it

Question 12

Meaning Structure

Answer 12

term to designate concepts in the mind of the individual

Question 13

Instantaion

Answer 13

helps ensure theories are testable and not to broad

specifying instances of abstract concepts in order to clarify meaning

Question 14

Internal Validation

Answer 14

judged by formal rules of logic

Question 15

Modelling

Answer 15

process of developing representational descriptions by means of examples like graphs, tables, equations, casual models, and flow charts

Question 16

Modelling and Understanding

Answer 16

models help us understand by DESCRIBING, EXPLAINING, and/or PREDICTING phenomenon they represent

Question 17

Models

Answer 17

Simplified representations of the real world.

concepts and relationships between concepts

Question 18

Models are Compared by Checking…

Answer 18

• Parsimomy
• Relevence
• Generalizability
• Transferability
• Reusability

Question 19

Parsimony

Answer 19

makes the least assumptions, stays close to current body of knowledge, and explain phenomena at least as adequately as others before

Question 20

Sensitivity Analysis

Answer 20

how substantial are the changes by altering a specific variable

Question 21

Shared Meaning

Answer 21

a general consensus agreeing on the core meaning of a concept

ex. round

Question 22

Surface Structure

Answer 22

term to designate symbols that are external representations of thoughts (meaning structure)

Question 23

Symbols

Answer 23

external expressions used to represent and communicate internal concepts to others

Question 24

Surplus Meaning

Answer 24

there is a larger quantity of differing definitions of a concept

(ex. differing definitions of what exactly constitutes a shirt)

Question 25

Systematic Empirical Validation

Answer 25

repeated empirical testing

Question 26

Theoretical Expression

Answer 26

Any external symbolic relationship of an internal conceptual system.

• regardless is properly understood as a theory/model by others
• regardless of how it is symbolically represented
• regardless if tested empirically or not

Question 27

Uncertainty Analysis

Answer 27

how certain is the variable

Question 28

Variables

Answer 28

a concept conceptualized by specific categories or levels

Question 29

Quantitative Variables

Answer 29

Assigned numerical values to place in different categories

ex. number of children, population, numbers or slices in a pizza

Question 30

Nominal Variables

Answer 30

Different categories with no specific ordering.

Qualitative: gender, hair colour, ethnicity