def METHOD_NAME(self, instance, data, exclude=None, api=False):
    """
    Compare a model instance to a dictionary, checking that its attribute values match those specified
    in the dictionary.
    :param instance: Python object instance
    :param data: Dictionary of test data used to define the instance
    :param exclude: List of fields to exclude from comparison (e.g. passwords, which get hashed)
    :param api: Set to True is the data is a JSON representation of the instance
    """
    if exclude is None:
        exclude = []
    fields = [k for k in data.keys() if k not in exclude]
    model_dict = self.model_to_dict(instance, fields=fields, api=api)
    # Omit any dictionary keys which are not instance attributes or have been excluded
    relevant_data = {
        k: v for k, v in data.items() if hasattr(instance, k) and k not in exclude
    }
    self.assertDictEqual(model_dict, relevant_data)