You are here

Computational Social Science
Share
Share

Computational Social Science

Four Volume Set
Edited by:


September 2010 | 1 664 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Computational social science is an approach increasingly influential in a broad range of social sciences. It involves building a computer programme model that represents a theory and then 'executing' the programme and observing the output as a way of validating the theory, making predictions about the social world or exploring the implications of social interventions. Computational social science has been proposed as a 'third way', standing beside quantitative mathematical and formal approaches and qualitative, interpretative approaches. Computational methods have been used in fields as diverse as political science and environmental resource management. They are becoming popular in some areas of economics; in science and innovation policy; in social psychology; in voting and opinion studies; in marketing and consumer behaviour and in anthropology.

This four volume set republishes the key articles in the emerging field of computational social science. Because of the widespread use of computational approaches throughout the social sciences, the literature is very widely dispersed. Many papers are of interest far outside their original disciplines, because of the methods they use and the theories they develop have broad ranging application. Some of the literature is hard to locate, published in conference proceedings and edited collections without a wide circulation. Nigel Gilbert has brought together this disparate literature within a logical and coherent framework and contextualized his selection with a 6,500 word introduction.

 
VOLUME 1
 
Introduction
Why Agents? On the varied motivations for agent computing in the social sciences

Robert L. Axtell
On Generating Hypotheses Using Computer Simulations

Kathleen M. Carley
The Computer as a Laboratory

John L. Casti
Learning to Speculate: Experiments with artificial and real agents

John Duffy
Agent-Based Computational Models and Generative Social Science

Joshua M. Epstein
Seeing Around Corners

J. Rauch
 
Precursors and Early Work
A Computer Simulation of Community Referendum Controversies

Robert P. Abelson and Alex Bernstein
A Monte Carlo Approach to Diffusion

T. Hagerstrand
Flocks, Herds, and Schools: A distributed behavioral model

Craig W. Reynolds
The Checkerboard Model of Social Interaction

J.M. Sakoda
Dynamic Models of Segregation

T.C. Schelling
Negotiation as a Metaphor for Distributed Problem Solving

R.G. Smith and R. Davis
 
Agent-based Computational Economics
Auctions with Artificial Adaptive Agents

James Andreoni and John H. Miller
Competing Technologies, Increasing Returns, and Lock-In by Historical Events

W. Brian Arthur
Why Are We Simulating Anyway? Some answers from economics

E. Chattoe
The Emergence of Economic Classes in an Agent-Based Bargaining Model

Joshua M. Epstein, Robert L. Axtell and P. Young
Artificial Adaptive Agents in Economic Theory

John H. Holland and John H. Miller
Evolving Market Structure: An ACE model of price dispersion and loyalty

Alan P. Kirman and Nicolaas J. Vriend
Artificial Worlds and Economics, Part II

David A. Lane
Modeling Macroeconomies as Open-Ended Dynamic Systems of Interacting Agents

L. LeBaron and L. Tesfatsion
Why are Economists Sceptical about Agent-based Simulations?

Roberto Leombruni and Matteo Richiardi
Agent-Based Modelling - A Methodology for the Analysis of Qualitative Development Processes

Andreas Pyka and Thomas Grebel
 
VOLUME 2
 
Modelling Sociality
Symbolic Interactionist Modeling: The coevolution of symbols and institutions

D.V. Duong
Modeling Sociality: The view from Europe

Nigel Gilbert
The Emergence of Computational Sociology

N.P. Hummon and T.J. Fararo
From Factors to Actors: Computational sociology and agent-based modeling

Michael M. Macy and Robert Willer
Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning

James G. March
Multi-Agent Systems for the Simulation of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change: A review

Dawn C. Parker, Steven Manson, Marco A. Janssen, Matthew J. Hoffmann and Peter Deadman
Multi-Agent Dependence by Dependence Graphs

Jaime S. Sichman and Rosario Conte
 
Groups
Sociophysics: A new approach of sociological collective behavior

Serge Galam, Y. Gefen and Y. Shapir
Towards a Theory of Collective Phenomena: Consensus and attitude changes in groups

Serge Galam and Serge Moscovici
Status and Participation in Task Groups: A dynamic network model

John Skvoretz and Thomas J. Fararo
 
Organisations
A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice

Michael D. Cohen, James G. March and Johan P. Olsen
 
Societies
Population Growth and Collapse in a Multiagent Model of the Kayenta Anasazi in Long House Valley

Robert L. Axtell, Joshua M. Epstein, Jeffrey S. Dean, George J. Gumerman, et al
The "Wedding-Ring": An agent-based marriage model based on social interaction

F. Billari, A. Prskawetz, B.A. Diaz and T. Fent
The EOS Project: Integrating two models of palaeolithic social change

Jim Doran and Mike Palmer
Persuasion Dynamics

Gérard Weisbuch, Guillaume Deffuant and Frédéric Amblard
 
Networks
The Structure of Scientific Collaboration Networks

M.E.J. Newman
Opinion Evolution in Closed Community

Katarzyna Sznajd-Weron and Jósef Sznajd
The "New" Science of Network

Duncan J. Watts
 
VOLUME 3
 
Social Dilemmas
Agent-Based Simulation in the Study of Social Dilemmas

N.M. Gotts, J.G. Polhill and A.N.R. Law
Learning, Signaling, and Social Preferences in Public-Good Games

Marco A. Janssen and T.K. Ahn
Nucleus and Shield: The evolution of social structure in the iterated prisoner's dilemma

Bjørn Lomborg
 
Cognition and Norms
An Evolutionary Approach to Norms

Robert Axelrod
Simulating Fishermen Society

François Bousquet, C. Cambier, C. Mullon, P. Morand, and J. Quensiere
The Emperor's Dilemma: A computational model of self-enforcing norms

Damon Centola, Robert Willer and Michael M. Macy
Understanding the Functions of Norms in Social Groups through Simulation

Roasario Conte and Christiano Castelfranchi
Evolving Specialisation, Altruism and Group-Level Optimisation Using Tags

David Hales
The Evolution of Ethnocentrism

Ross A. Hammond and Robert Axelrod
Fashions, Habits and Changing Preferences: Simulation of psychological factors affecting market dynamics

Marco A. Janssen and Wander Jager
Modeling Agents within a BDI Architecture

Anand S. Rao and Michael P. Georgeff
A Multi-Agent Model for Describing Transhumance in North Cameroon: Comparison of different rationality to develop a routine

Juliette Rouchier, François Bousquet, Mélanie Requier-Desjardins and Martine Antona
The Evolution of Communication Systems by Adaptive Agents

Luc Steels
Cognitive Science Meets Multi-Agent Systems: A prolegomenon

Ron Sun
 
Methodology
From KISS to KIDS - An 'Anti-simplistic' Modelling Approach

Bruce Edmonds and Scott Moss
 
VOLUME IV
 
Emergence
Varieties of Emergence

Nigel Gilbert
Computation at the Edge of Chaos: Phase transitions and emergent computation

C.G. Langton
Emergent Properties of Balinese Water Temple Networks: Coadaptation on a rugged fitness landscape

J. Stephen Lansing and James N. Kremer
The Standing Ovation Problem

John H. Miller and Scott E. Page
Artificial Societies: Multiagent systems and the micro-macro link in sociological theory

R. Keith Sawyer
Computational Models of Emergent Properties

John Symons
 
Tools and Techniques
Advancing the Art of Simulation in the Social Sciences

Robert Axelrod
Multi-Agent Systems and Role Games: Collective learning processes for ecosystem management

François Bousquet, O. Barreteau, P. D'Aquino, M. Etienne, S. Boissau, S. Aubert, et al.
Agent-Based Modeling vs. Equation-Based Modeling: A case study and users' guide

H. Van Dyke Parunak, Robert Savit and Rick L. Riolo
How to Build and Use Agent-Based Models in Social Science

Nigel Gilbert and P. Terna
A Standard Protocol for Describing Individual-Based and Agent-Based Models

Volker Grimm, Uta Berger, Finn Bastiansen, Sigrunn Eliassen, et al.
Cellular Automata in the Social Sciences: Perspectives, restrictions and artifacts

R. Hegselmann
Agent-Based Simulation Platforms: Review and development recommendations

Steven F. Railsback, Steven L. Lytinen and Stephen K. Jackson
A Common Protocol for Agent-Based Social Simulation

Metteo Richiardi, Roberto Leombruni, Nicole Saam and Michele Sonnessa
 
Validation
Aligning Simulation Models: A case study and results

Robert L. Axtell, Robert Axelrod, Joshua M. Epstein and Michael D. Cohen
Validation, Verification, and Testing Techniques throughout the Life Cycle of a Simulation Study

Osman Balci
Sociology and Simulation: Statistical and qualitative cross-validation

Scott Moss and Bruce Edmonds