Good models start with good plans. Let’s think through the process systematically.
What Question Are You Trying to Answer?¶
Every model should address a specific question about social phenomena:
Good research questions:
- “How do individual preferences for similar neighbors lead to residential segregation?”
- “What factors determine whether cooperation emerges in a group?”
- “How does information spread through a social network?”
Too vague:
- “How do people behave?”
- “What makes societies work?”
What Are Your Agents and What Do They Do?¶
Once you have a question, design your agents:
Agent properties: What characteristics do they have?
- Demographics (age, income, education)
- Preferences (risk tolerance, social orientation)
- States (opinion, mood, health status)
- Resources (money, time, information)
Agent behaviors: What actions can they take?
- Movement (where do they go?)
- Communication (who do they talk to?)
- Decision-making (how do they choose?)
- Learning (how do they adapt?)
What Does Success Look Like?¶
Define what patterns you expect to see:
- Segregation model: Clusters of similar agents
- Cooperation model: Stable cooperation despite temptation to defect
- Information spread: Rapid diffusion through social networks
Success criteria:
- Model produces realistic patterns
- Changing parameters creates predictable changes
- Results provide insights about real-world phenomena