Mechanistic models in computational social science
Quantitative social science is not only about regression analysis or, in general, data inference. Computer simulations of social mechanisms have an over 60 years long history. They have been used for many different purposes—to test scenarios, to test the consistency of descriptive theories (proof-of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Physics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphy.2015.00078/full |
| _version_ | 1811240452476633088 |
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| author | Petter eHolme Fredrik eLiljeros |
| author_facet | Petter eHolme Fredrik eLiljeros |
| author_sort | Petter eHolme |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Quantitative social science is not only about regression analysis or, in general, data inference. Computer simulations of social mechanisms have an over 60 years long history. They have been used for many different purposes—to test scenarios, to test the consistency of descriptive theories (proof-of-concept models), to explore emergent phenomena, for forecasting, etc. In this essay, we sketch these historical developments, the role of mechanistic models in the social sciences and the influences from the natural and formal sciences. We argue that mechanistic computational models form a natural common ground for social and natural sciences, and look forward to possible future information flow across the social-natural divide. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:20:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-409a3579914c4c2587a8401d06976f72 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-424X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:20:31Z |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-409a3579914c4c2587a8401d06976f722022-12-22T03:31:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physics2296-424X2015-09-01310.3389/fphy.2015.00078159154Mechanistic models in computational social sciencePetter eHolme0Fredrik eLiljeros1Sungkyunkwan UniversityStockholm UniversityQuantitative social science is not only about regression analysis or, in general, data inference. Computer simulations of social mechanisms have an over 60 years long history. They have been used for many different purposes—to test scenarios, to test the consistency of descriptive theories (proof-of-concept models), to explore emergent phenomena, for forecasting, etc. In this essay, we sketch these historical developments, the role of mechanistic models in the social sciences and the influences from the natural and formal sciences. We argue that mechanistic computational models form a natural common ground for social and natural sciences, and look forward to possible future information flow across the social-natural divide.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphy.2015.00078/fullcomplex systemssimulationmechanistic modelscomputational social scienceInterdisciplinary science |
| spellingShingle | Petter eHolme Fredrik eLiljeros Mechanistic models in computational social science Frontiers in Physics complex systems simulation mechanistic models computational social science Interdisciplinary science |
| title | Mechanistic models in computational social science |
| title_full | Mechanistic models in computational social science |
| title_fullStr | Mechanistic models in computational social science |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mechanistic models in computational social science |
| title_short | Mechanistic models in computational social science |
| title_sort | mechanistic models in computational social science |
| topic | complex systems simulation mechanistic models computational social science Interdisciplinary science |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphy.2015.00078/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pettereholme mechanisticmodelsincomputationalsocialscience AT fredrikeliljeros mechanisticmodelsincomputationalsocialscience |