5 - Creating Agent-Based Models Flashcards
What is a model?
- a conceptual/textual description
- a software-based implementation
What are the 2 major categories of ABMs?
- Phenomena-based modelling
- Exploratory modelling
What is phenomena-based modelling?
- model captures the referent patterns
- e.g. segregation, spiral formation, oscillations populations of agents
What is exploratory modeling?
- Create agents, define their behaviour and explore the patterns that emerge
What is the top-down approach of conceptualizing models?
- develop the conceptual model first then implement it
- need to have the research question, design agents and their rules of behaviour, elements of the environment
- refine and revise until it has enough detail to be coded
What is the bottom-up approach of conceptualizing models?
- choose a domain of interest, start coding something relevant to the domain, adding in the conceptualizations, mechanisms, properties etc.
How does the conceptualization of models work in practice?
It is a combination of top-down and bottom-up approach
What is the AMB design principle?
Start simple and build towards the question you want to answer
> start with the simplest set of agents and relevant behaviour
> always keep your research question in mind
What is the purpose of verification in ABM?
Ensuring that a computational model faithfully implements its target conceptual model
True of False: Simpler models are easier to verify and scale up from
True
Based on what factors do you choose your agents?
- Agent properties (preferences)
- Environmental characteristics and stationary agents
- Agent behaviour
- Time steps
- Parameters
- Measures
How do you examine a model?
- Multiple runs (keep time constant but random seeds)
- Parameter sweeping and results collection (robustness and sensitivity analysis)
- Data Analysis (statistical inference, visualization, etc.)
What is the first step of building a model?
Formulating the driving research question
