Martin Zwick and Michael S. Johnson
Presented at the 2002 meeting of
the World Organization of Systems
and Cybernetics and the International
Institute of General Systems Studies
Abstract
Reconstructability analysis
(RA) is a method for detecting and analyzing the structure of multivariate
categorical data. While Jones and his
colleagues extended the original variable-based formulation of RA to encompass
models defined in terms of system states, their focus was the analysis and
approximation of real-valued functions.
In this paper, we separate two ideas that Jones had merged together: the
“g to k” transformation and state-based modeling. We relate the idea of state-based modeling to
established variable-based RA concepts and methods, including structure
lattices, search strategies, metrics of model quality, and the statistical
evaluation of model fit for analyses based on sample data. We also discuss the interpretation of
state-based modeling results for both neutral and directed systems, and address
the practical question of how state-based approaches can be used in conjunction
with established variable-based methods.