Formal specification of hypotheses for assisting computer simulation studies

The aim of computer simulation studies is to answer research questions by means of experiments. For providing reliable evidence, the procedure of the study needs to be aligned with the question and the steps of the study need to be adjusted and combined accordingly. Supporting this process is challenging as the identification, customization, and combination of adequate tools and techniques for the systematic design of simulation experiments with respect to a hypothesis is not trivial. Hence, for providing computer-aided assistance, a language for the specification of hypotheses with respect to the credible and reproducible testing of research questions in computer simulation is needed. In this paper, we propose an approach for formally specifying hypotheses that allows for automated hypothesis testing. Based on specified hypotheses, we demonstrate the assistance of simulation studies in terms of model parametrization and analysis of results with respect to the statistically sound evaluation of hypotheses.