The importance of being systematically surprisable: Comparative social simulation as experimental technique

Autor:	Marjolein C. Achterkamp, Peter Imhof
Rok vydání:	1999
Předmět:	Generality Sociology of scientific knowledge Algebra and Number Theory Sociology and Political Science business.industry Computer science Constructivism (philosophy of education) Artificial intelligence Development theory business Data science Social Sciences (miscellaneous) Social simulation
Zdroj:	The Journal of Mathematical Sociology. 23:327-347
ISSN:	1545-5874 0022-250X
Popis:	We argue that computer simulation can serve as a functional equivalent for the experimental method in sociology, with respect to theory development. To this end we present accounts of experimentation and simulation by experimenting/simulating scientists and sociologists of science. From these analyses we conclude desirable features of a simulation method: generality, surprisability and power to separate. That means that it should be widely applicable, capable of surprising the researcher, and capable of separating surprising results that originate from sociological features of the model from those that stem from technical features. We demonstrate three methods that may provide these features: emergence, fixing points of reference, and comparative response testing. We develop the latter method in greater depth by discussing an exemplary simulation study.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::cca218c40006e45f6903b71b5d550784 https://doi.org/10.1080/0022250x.1999.9990226 Zobrazit plný text záznamu