ECON-2006EG Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Scientific Method, Empiricism, Dependent And Independent Variables
7 Mar 2021
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Document Summary
A model is a simplified description of reality. Economists use data to evaluate the accuracy of models and understand how the world works. Experiments help economists measure cause and effect. Economic research focuses on questions that are important to society and can be answered with models and data. Empiricism is at the heart of all scientific analysis. The scientific method is the name for the ongoing process that economists and other scientists use to (1) develop models of the world and (2) test those models with data. Testing with data enables economists to separate the good models-those approximately match the data-from the bad models. A model is a simplified description, or representation, of the world. Sometimes, economists will refer to a model as a theory. It"s more important for a model to be simple and useful than it is for a model to be precisely accurate. All scientific models make predictions that can be checked with data.
