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The Ground Truth program: simulations as test beds for social science research methods

Author

Listed:
  • Asmeret Naugle

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Adam Russell

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Kiran Lakkaraju

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Laura Swiler

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Stephen Verzi

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Vicente Romero

    (Sandia National Laboratories)

Abstract

Social systems are uniquely complex and difficult to study, but understanding them is vital to solving the world’s problems. The Ground Truth program developed a new way of testing the research methods that attempt to understand and leverage the Human Domain and its associated complexities. The program developed simulations of social systems as virtual world test beds. Not only were these simulations able to produce data on future states of the system under various circumstances and scenarios, but their causal ground truth was also explicitly known. Research teams studied these virtual worlds, facilitating deep validation of causal inference, prediction, and prescription methods. The Ground Truth program model provides a way to test and validate research methods to an extent previously impossible, and to study the intricacies and interactions of different components of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Asmeret Naugle & Adam Russell & Kiran Lakkaraju & Laura Swiler & Stephen Verzi & Vicente Romero, 2023. "The Ground Truth program: simulations as test beds for social science research methods," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:comaot:v:29:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10588-021-09346-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10588-021-09346-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Duncan J. Watts, 2017. "Should social science be more solution-oriented?," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(1), pages 1-5, January.
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