Instructor Materials
This page provides instructor materials for the second edition of Agent-based and Individual-based Modeling: A Practical Introduction by Railsback and Grimm.
Please do not copy or circulate these materials. If anyone asks you for the materials, please just ask them to contact us and request access.
Graphics: You can download a large (15 MB) Microsoft Word file containing all the book’s figures and tables, for use in lectures. The file is: Railsback-Grimm_E2_FiguresAndTables.docx.
The materials provided for each chapter include homework solutions, working codes, project ideas, etc. You can download individual files from the table below, or click (or right-click) here to download all files in one Zip archive (last updated: 26 Feb 2019; 32 MB).
Please make sure you also carefully read our errata sheet (which corrects errors and unclear parts of the book), which is on the Downloads and Errata page.
Chapter
Links to materials
Date last revised
Description of materials
1: Models, Agent-Based Models, and the Modeling Cycle
22 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 1.
2: Getting Started with NetLogo
22 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 2.
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file of the Mushroom Hunt model with the modifications described in Exercise 4.
3: Describing and Formulating ABMs
21 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 3.
4: Implementing a First Agent-Based Model
26 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 4.
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file with the Butterfly Hilltopping model of Section 4.3.
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file with the Butterfly Hilltopping model modified to include “noise” in elevation, a solution for Exercise 4.
5: From Animations to Science
21 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 5.
21 Feb 2019
The elevation data file used in Section 5.5. This file is also available to anyone from the “Downloads” page.
21 Feb 2019
An Excel file illustrating how to transform landscape data for Exercise 10.
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file containing the Butterfly as described in Section 5.2.
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file containing the Butterfly as described in Section 5.4.
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file containing the Butterfly as described in Section 5.5.
6: Testing Your Program
8 Aug 2024
Exercise solutions for Chapter 6. (August 2024 updates reflect changes to Exercise 7, including changes to the untested model.)
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file with the memory test code of Section 6.3.7, for Exercise 3.
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file with the memory test problem of Section 6.3.7, but with a better algorithm, as discussed in the exercise solutions for Exercise 3.
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file with code to produce the file output needed for Exercise 4.
26 Feb 2019
NetLogo file with code to produce the file output needed for Exercise 5.
8 Aug 2024
A NetLogo file with the known code errors in the Culture Dissemination model fixed (the errors are discussed in the exercise solutions). (August 2024 updates improve how test file headers are written and the format of update-test-output.csv.)
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the known code errors in the Harvester model (Exercise 8) fixed; the errors are discussed in the exercise solutions.
7: Introduction to Part II
(none)
21 Feb 2019
An Excel file illustrating the analysis needed for Exercise 1.
21 Feb 2019
An Excel file illustrating the analysis needed for Exercise 2.
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Butterfly Model changes called for in exercises 1-4.
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with solutions to the NetLogo refresher that is Exercise 8.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file of the Business Investor model as described in Section 10.4.1.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file of the Business Investor model as described in Section 10.4.2.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file of the Business Investor model as described in Section 10.4.3.
11: Adaptive Behavior and Objectives
21 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 11.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Business Investor model version described in Section 11.4 (with satisficing behavior), for exercises 2 and 3.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Business Investor model version described in Section 11.5 (with several alternative utility functions), a solution to Exercise 4.
–
26 Feb 2019
An Excel file for producing contour plots of investor utility, as in figures 12.3 through 12.7.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file implementing the Business Investor model for Exercise 1.
–
21 Feb 2019
An Excel file implementing the Bayesian updating method of Section 12.5, a solution to Exercise 2.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file implementing the Business Investor model as modified for Exercise 3, with Bayesian updating to predict risk.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Telemarketer model configured for Exercise 2.
–
26 Feb 2019
An Excel file containing analysis (using PivotTables) of a BehaviorSpace experiment to address Exercise 2; the analysis is discussed in the exercise solutions.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Telemarketer model with mergers represented via links, a solution to Exercise 5.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Telemarketer model with customers remembering calls as described in Section 13.6, a solution to Exercise 6.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Telemarketer model with each telemarketer maintaining a do-not-call list, a solution to Exercise 7.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Telemarketer model with a national do-not-call list, a solution to Exercise 7.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Telemarketer model modified to use synchronous updating of telemarketer updating, a solution to Exercise 2.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Mousetrap model of Section 14.2.5, a solution to Exercise 4.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Telemarketer model in which all telemarketers make calls during the same time period, an illustration of the problem posed in Exercise 8.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file that includes the random draw procedures called for in exercises 1 and 2.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Business Investor model modified as called for in Exercise 3.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with log-normal distribution code described in Exercise 7.
–
26 Feb 2019
The Business Investor model modified as described in Section 15.4 (with stochastic decision-making), a solution to Exercise 8.
–
26 Feb 2019
An Excel file implementing the logistic function algorithm, a solution to Exercise 1.
–
26 Feb 2019
The Wild Dogs model of Section 16.4, a solution to Exercise 3.
–
26 Feb 2019
The Wild Dogs model with transients, a solution to Exercise 5.
17: Introduction to Part III
(none)
18: Patterns for Model Structure
22 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 18.
–
22 Feb 2019
A presentation on the Coffee Farm model example of using observed patterns to design an ABM. This model was mentioned in Chapter 17 (e.g., Figure 17.2), and is a particularly clear and explicit example of how patterns tell us what does and does not need to be in a model. The instructor materials include a Powerpoint presentation, and a zip file containing the model and input files.
–
26 Feb 2019
A NetLogo file with the Woodhoopoe model described in Section 19.4.3, including several alternative “traits” or rules for deciding when to forage. The mechanistic trait described in the exercise solutions is included.
20: Parameterization and Calibration
22 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 20.
–
26 Feb 2019
An Excel file that analyzes a BehaviorSpace experiment to address Exercise 1.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Woodhoopoe model modified for calibration as described in “Approach 2” of the exercise solutions for Exercise 2.
–
22 Feb 2019
A (very large) Excel file that analyzes a BehaviorSpace experiment described in “Approach 2” of the exercise solutions for Exercise 2.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the NetLogo library’s Flocking model containing a BehaviorSpace calibration experiment, for Exercise 4.
–
22 Feb 2019
An Excel file analyzing the calibration experiment for Exercise 4.
21: Introduction to Part IV
(none)
22: Analyzing and Understanding ABMs
22 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 22.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Segregation model that implements the change in Exercise 1: when households move, they move to a patch where they are “happy”.
–
26 Feb 2019
A version of the Segregation model that implements the change in Exercise 3: including boundaries such as streets.
23: Sensitivity, Uncertainty, and Robustness Analysis
22 Feb 2019
Exercise solutions for Chapter 23.
–
26 Feb 2019
The bird colony Breeding Synchrony model described in Section 23.4, for use in Exercise 3.
24: Where to Go from Here
(none)