TY  - JOUR
A1  - Thiele, Jan C.
A1  - Grimm, Volker
T1  - Replicating and breaking models: good for you and good for ecology
T2  - Oikos
N2  - There are two major limitations to the potential of computational models in ecology for producing general insights: their design is path-dependent, reflecting different underlying questions, assumptions, and data, and there is too little robustness analysis exploring where the model mechanisms explaining certain observations break down. We here argue that both limitations could be overcome if modellers in ecology would more often replicate existing models, try to break the models, and explore modifications. Replication comprises the re-implementation of an existing model and the replication of its results. Breaking models means to identify under what conditions the mechanisms represented in a model can no longer explain observed phenomena. The benefits of replication include less effort being spent to enter the iterative stage of model development and having more time for systematic robustness analysis. A culture of replication would lead to increased credibility, coherence and efficiency of computational modelling and thereby facilitate theory development.
Y1  - 2015
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/38874
SN  - 0030-1299
SN  - 1600-0706
VL  - 124
IS  - 6
SP  - 691
EP  - 696
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -