IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jorsoc/v58y2007i8d10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602275.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How novices formulate models. Part I: qualitative insights and implications for teaching

Author

Listed:
  • S G Powell

    (Dartmouth College)

  • T R Willemain

    (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

Abstract

Teaching novices how to formulate mathematical models for ill-structured problems is a challenging task. Little is known about how novices approach ill-structured problems and how their performance differs from that of experts. We audiotaped 28 MBA students while they worked through four ill-structured modelling problems. The task in each problem was to begin to develop a model that could ultimately be used for forecasting or analysis of alternative courses of action. We analysed transcripts of these think-aloud protocols both quantitatively and qualitatively. We observed five behaviours that are not typical of experts and that limit the effectiveness of our subjects. These include: over-reliance on given numerical data, taking shortcuts to an answer, insufficient use of abstract variables and relationships, ineffective self-regulation, and overuse of brainstorming relative to structured problem solving. We conclude that an effective modelling pedagogy should teach how to: formulate models both in the presence and the absence of data, abstract variables and relationships, employ control strategies for self-regulation, and use structured problem-solving methods.

Suggested Citation

  • S G Powell & T R Willemain, 2007. "How novices formulate models. Part I: qualitative insights and implications for teaching," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(8), pages 983-995, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:58:y:2007:i:8:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602275
    DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602275
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602275
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602275?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas R. Willemain, 1994. "Insights on Modeling from a Dozen Experts," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 42(2), pages 213-222, April.
    2. Thomas R. Willemain, 1995. "Model Formulation: What Experts Think About and When," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 43(6), pages 916-932, December.
    3. William T. Morris, 1967. "On the Art of Modeling," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(12), pages 707-717, August.
    4. Stephen Powell, 1998. "The studio approach toteaching the craft of modeling," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 82(0), pages 29-48, August.
    5. T R Willemain & S G Powell, 2007. "How novices formulate models. Part II: a quantitative description of behaviour," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(10), pages 1271-1283, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Scott P. Stevens & Susan W. Palocsay, 2017. "Teaching Use of Binary Variables in Integer Linear Programs: Formulating Logical Conditions," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 28-36, September.
    2. Thomas A. Grossman & Vijay Mehrotra & Mouwafac Sidaoui, 2016. "A Student-Centered Approach to the Business School Management Science Course," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 42-53, January.
    3. Franco, L. Alberto & Hämäläinen, Raimo P. & Rouwette, Etiënne A.J.A. & Leppänen, Ilkka, 2021. "Taking stock of behavioural OR: A review of behavioural studies with an intervention focus," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 293(2), pages 401-418.
    4. W Hobbs & N J Curtis, 2011. "Theory and application of perceptual positions to data collection and analysis in military environments," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(9), pages 1753-1764, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. T R Willemain & S G Powell, 2007. "How novices formulate models. Part II: a quantitative description of behaviour," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(10), pages 1271-1283, October.
    2. Michael Pidd, 1999. "Just Modeling Through: A Rough Guide to Modeling," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 118-132, April.
    3. S Robinson, 2008. "Conceptual modelling for simulation Part I: definition and requirements," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(3), pages 278-290, March.
    4. Franco, L. Alberto & Hämäläinen, Raimo P., 2016. "Behavioural operational research: Returning to the roots of the OR profession," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 791-795.
    5. Frederic H. Murphy, 2005. "ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: Expertise in Practice," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 313-322, August.
    6. P Keys, 2006. "On becoming expert in the use of problem structuring methods," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(7), pages 822-829, July.
    7. Franco, L. Alberto & Hämäläinen, Raimo P. & Rouwette, Etiënne A.J.A. & Leppänen, Ilkka, 2021. "Taking stock of behavioural OR: A review of behavioural studies with an intervention focus," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 293(2), pages 401-418.
    8. Tako, Antuela A. & Robinson, Stewart, 2010. "Model development in discrete-event simulation and system dynamics: An empirical study of expert modellers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 207(2), pages 784-794, December.
    9. L B Waisel & W A Wallace & T R Willemain, 2008. "Visualization and model formulation: an analysis of the sketches of expert modellers," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(3), pages 353-361, March.
    10. Merrick, James H. & Weyant, John P., 2019. "On choosing the resolution of normative models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(2), pages 511-523.
    11. O'Keefe, Robert M., 2016. "Experimental behavioural research in operational research: What we know and what we might come to know," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 899-907.
    12. Lami, Isabella M. & Tavella, Elena, 2019. "On the usefulness of soft OR models in decision making: A comparison of Problem Structuring Methods supported and self-organized workshops," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 275(3), pages 1020-1036.
    13. Keys, Paul, 2000. "Creativity, design and style in MS/OR," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 303-312, June.
    14. Gass, Saul I., 1997. "The Washington operations research connection: the rest of the story," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 245-255, December.
    15. Lahtinen, Tuomas J. & Hämäläinen, Raimo P., 2016. "Path dependence and biases in the even swaps decision analysis method," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 890-898.
    16. Thomas A. Grossman, 1999. "Teachers' Forum: Spreadsheet Modeling and Simulation Improves Understanding of Queues," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 88-103, June.
    17. S Robinson, 2008. "Conceptual modelling for simulation Part II: a framework for conceptual modelling," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(3), pages 291-304, March.
    18. Brian Heath & Raymond Hill & Frank Ciarallo, 2009. "A Survey of Agent-Based Modeling Practices (January 1998 to July 2008)," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 12(4), pages 1-9.
    19. Brown, Joyce & Cooper, Ceri & Pidd, Michael, 2006. "A taxing problem: The complementary use of hard and soft OR in the public sector," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(2), pages 666-679, July.
    20. Thomas A. Grossman & Vijay Mehrotra & Mouwafac Sidaoui, 2016. "A Student-Centered Approach to the Business School Management Science Course," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 42-53, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:58:y:2007:i:8:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602275. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.