Multiple trial and error in Matlab, + optimization ..

Hi,

I'm a first time user of Matlab. I need to calculate 12 coefficients by matching calculated values to the actual dataset - by the way of "multiple trial and error" and also I will possibly need to apply an optimization method to perform "trial and error" more efficiently..

Could you please give me a pathway directions on how I can accomplish the task?

Thanks in Advance!

Regards, Tural