Model

A model is an abstract representation of reality in some form (e.g., mathematical, physical, symbolic, graphical, or descriptive), designed to represent specific aspects of that reality and to provide answers to the questions being studied.

A model is a material or mentally conceived object that, in the process of investigation (study), replaces an original object while preserving certain of its essential features relevant to the research. The process of building and using a model is called modeling.

Purpose

A model is needed in order to:

• understand how a specific object is constructed: its structure, internal connections, fundamental properties, and the laws governing its development, self-development, and interaction with the environment;
• learn to manage an object or process, and to determine the best methods of control for given goals and criteria;
• predict direct and indirect consequences.

When discussing scientific modeling, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of terms such as "model" and "theory". In modern scientific literature, these concepts are interpreted ambiguously, and the boundary between them is blurred. In the methodology of science, the following interpretations are currently recognized:

• Model — a tool primarily focused on investigating the behavior and properties of a specific object for the purpose of managing it or predicting its properties.
• Theory — a more abstract tool than a model, whose main goal is to explain the behavior or properties not of a specific object, but of a class of objects. It can be said that a theory contains a finite or even infinite set of specific models.

When creating a specific model, the laws and equations of the corresponding theory are used. A model answers the questions "How?" and "Why?" for a specific object, while a theory does so for an entire family of objects with similar properties. It should be noted, however, that when developing models of complex processes and phenomena, it is often necessary to use concepts and relationships from several theories belonging to different sections, disciplines, and even fields of knowledge.

Models can be built in the imagination, ideally, through thought—such models are called abstract models. Alternatively, models can be created from real objects and processes—these are called real, tangible, or sometimes physical models. In a sense, symbolic models—real models with abstract content—occupy an intermediate, mediating position. The concept of a model does not just refer to an object; in certain respects, it includes: the subject organizing the modeling and the task for which the modeling is performed (both through the goal); the original object being modeled; the means from which the model is created; and the environment in which the model is intended to function.

"By a model, we shall understand a simplified, or if you will, a packaged form of knowledge, carrying very specific, limited information about a subject (phenomenon) and reflecting certain of its properties. A model can be seen as a special form of information encoding. Unlike conventional encoding, where all the source information is known and we are merely translating it into another language, a model, whatever language it uses, also encodes information that was previously unknown. It can be said that a model contains potential knowledge, which a person, by studying it, can acquire, make tangible, and use for practical life needs" (N.N. Moiseev).