1. 851-0585-04L – Modeling and Simulating Social Systems with MATLAB
L – Modeling and Simulating Social Systems with MATLAB
Lecture 2 – Research Project & Proposal
Karsten Donnay and Stefano Balietti
Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation
© ETH Zürich |

2. Schedule of the course Introduction to MATLAB
Schedule of the course
Introduction to MATLAB
24.09.
01.10.
08.10.
15.10.
22.10.
29.10.
05.11.
12.11.
19.11.
26.11.
03.12.
10.12.
17.12.
Introduction to social-science modeling and simulations
Working on projects (seminar thesis)
Handing in seminar thesis and giving a presentation

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4. Examination Format (please also refer to the course description)
Examination Format
(please also refer to the course description)
Students earn their credit points by:
implementing an established mathematical model from the social science literature in MATLAB;
producing a ~30 page seminar thesis (code must be included)
Presenting the results it in a 15 minute seminar talk.
“Submission” of the work through GitHub
[more details later on in the course]
The thesis should include a discussion of the mathematical model, the sociological concept behind it, the meaning of formulas, properties of the model, and parameter dependencies, but also possible practical implications. The computer code should be sufficiently well documented.

5. Seminar thesis Reproducing results in MATLAB
Seminar thesis
Reproducing results in MATLAB
Writing a report and giving a talk
Studying a scientific paper

6.
Project
Implementation of a model from the Social Science literature in MATLAB
During the next 1-2 weeks:
Form a group of 2-4 students
Decide together on a topic and research question
There are a lot of different project topics available on the Project section of the course website but we strongly encourage you to realize your own ideas for example with one of the datasets listed!

7. Project If you are looking for inspiration:
Project
If you are looking for inspiration:
A number of reports from the previous course are linked on the Project section of the website
Take a look what they did, maybe you would like to build up on their work…
If you are a Master/PhD student:
It is, of course, acceptable if you would like to do a project that is related to your research interests
Please approach us in class or write us an if you have any questions.

8. Project What we expect from you
Project
What we expect from you
Organize yourself into groups (use the mailing list!)
Carefully select a topic (and corresponding papers)
Think about which particular question you want to study
From NEXT Monday on we give you 2 weeks to submit a short 1-2 page proposal that very briefly(!) describes what you are planning to do
The purpose of the proposal is to ensure that you are on the right track with your project idea; please take your time forming your project idea and submit the proposals starting next week!

9. “The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skills.”
Albert Einstein
(14 Mar 1879 – 18 Apr 1955)

10. Research Proposal 1-2 (not more!) pages stating:
Research Proposal
1-2 (not more!) pages stating:
Brief, general introduction to the problem
How you plan to abstract it with a model
Research questions you want to try to answer
Existing literature you will base your model on and possible extensions
Research methods you are planning to use

11. Modeling Cycle Model Simulated data Social processes Collected Data
Modeling Cycle
Simulation
Model
Simulated data
Abstraction
Similarity
Social processes
Collected Data
Data gathering
Source: Gilbert and Troitzsch (2005)

12. Project Proposal Submitting the proposal
Project Proposal
Submitting the proposal
Set up a GitHub repository for your group
The research proposal is the readme file of the repository!
Please use the proposal template at

13. Project Template Repo on Github
Project Template Repo on Github

14. Research Plan Upon submission, the Research Plan can:
Research Plan
Upon submission, the Research Plan can:
be accepted
be accepted under revision
be modified later on only if change is justified (create new version)
Talk to us if you are not sure about your project ideas
Final deadline for signing-up for a project is:
October 22nd 2012

15. “Plans are useless, but planning is everything.”
Dwight David Eisenhower
(14 Oct 1890 – 28 Mar 1969)

16. Any questions?