Simulation for the Social Scientist

An invaluable guide to the

complex and increasingly

vital study of social

simulation

This is a revised, completely updated edition

of the practical textbook that examines the

techniques of building computer simulations

to assist understanding of social and economic

issues and problems. Interest in social

simulation has been growing rapidly worldwide

as a result of increasingly powerful

hardware capabilities and software programs.

The focus on this area of expertise

is also influenced by a rising interest in the

application of ideas of complexity, evolution,

adaptation, and chaos in the social

sciences.

This authoritative book details all of the

common approaches to social simulation, to

provide social scientists with an appreciation

of the literature and allow those with some

programming skills to create their own

simulations. New for this edition are a

chapter on how to use simulation as a tool,

as well as a chapter on multi-agent systems

to explain why and how multi-agent modeling

has become the preferred approach to

simulation.

Nigel Gilbert (United Kingdom) is a member of

the Sociology Department at the University of

Surrey.

Dr. Klaus G. Troitzsch (Germany) is based at the

Universitat Koblenz-Landau.

Booknews

Gilbert (sociology, U. of Surrey) and Troitzsch (social science informatics, U. of Koblenz-Landau, Germany) offer a practical textbook on techniques for building simulations to assist the understanding of social and economics issues. They explain what computer simulation can contribute to the social sciences, which of the many approaches to simulation would be best for a particular research project, and how to design and carry out a simulation and analyze the results. Computer scientists might also benefit from reading what functions social scientists need and what problems they have with existing packages. US distribution by Taylor and Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Nigel Gilbert (United Kingdom) is a member of

the Sociology Department at the University of

Surrey.

Dr. Klaus G. Troitzsch (Germany) is based at the

Universitat Koblenz-Landau.