VALIDATION (Model)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3702 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
J. CASTI enumerates as follows some criteria along which the validity of any kind of models should be established (1997, p.11):
- “Operational: Is the model able to provide answers to the questions for which it has been built?
- “Empirical: Does the model agree with observed data that are relevant to the problem under consideration?
- “Theoretical: Does the model contradict any establishedtheories ?”
- “Consistency: Does the model contain any logical contradiction?”
- “Faith: Do specialists in the area being modeled agree that the model produces believable results?”
- “Testing: Can the model be tested in the real world?”
Of course, some new models may “contradict establishedtheories ”. In such cases, we need a thorough discussion to evaluate if there are really contradictions and, if so, to find out their causes.
As to the “believable” character of the results, it depends on the “beliefs ” of the evaluators, whose frames of references should be clearly stated and possible also re-evaluated. Let us remember of the general and protracted opposition of mainstream geologists, from the 1920's on, to WEGENER's views about continental drift, later to be confirmed by plate tectonics.
Invalidation, as well as validation, must always be deeply justified.