The Quality of Social Simulation: An Example from Research Policy Modelling

Ahrweiler, Petra; Gilbert, Nigel

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12784-2_3

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Makale ile ilgili doğabilecek her türlü ihlallerde sorumluluk yazar(lar)a aittir." Ahrweiler, P. & Gilbert, N (2015)…”

Section: Eti̇k Metni̇unclassified

Sociology Dimension of Innovation

DEMİR>¹

2020

ijoess

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In this study, it is aimed to examine the sociological dimensions of innovation. Innovation has emerged because of the needs related to social, cultural, and economic social conditions. This state of regeneration can be compared to the human body rebuilding itself at any moment. In addition to traditional cooperation models in financial, technological, and social terms, innovation can be made possible by the realization of cooperation between talented individuals, institutions and organizations with different cultures and backgrounds. In the study, the sociological dimensions of innovation have been created because of the theoretical compilation of related studies after a detailed literature review. During the review of the literature on the subject, content analysis is performed, and it is seen that three sociologically different themes about innovation come to the fore. These themes are Competitive lifestyle (social simulation), technology-oriented consumption habits (technological innovation) and quality-oriented economic relationships (quality innovation). The study emphasizes the correlation between these three themes and innovation. As a result, eight categories play a decisive role in innovation: impact, people and talent, partnership, coplacement centers, community identification, outreach and dissemination, management and governance, and business model, financial plan, and sustainability. Due to the interaction between themes defined as innovation and competitive lifestyle, technology-oriented consumption habits and quality-oriented economic relations, there is a dynamic network between people-oriented relationships and technology-oriented behavior and consumption patterns. While shaping this social network, every factor that innovation interacts with should be handled in a holistic manner.

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“…Makale ile ilgili doğabilecek her türlü ihlallerde sorumluluk yazar(lar)a aittir." Ahrweiler, P. & Gilbert, N (2015)…”

Section: Eti̇k Metni̇unclassified

Sociology Dimension of Innovation

DEMİR>¹

2020

ijoess

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“…It is widely accepted that for theories or theoretical models, the process of validation consists in the empirical testing of their consequences by experiment or observation, which in this context is also often described as verification or falsification or, more generally, as confirmation. 1 The question then is, if the same still holds for computer simulations, that is, if computer simulations also require some form of empirical validation before they can be assumed to inform us about reality.…”

Section: Abstract: Computer Simulations Validation Of Simulations Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this sense, a historian checking an interpretation against the historical sources can also be said to validate that interpretation. However, I assume that proper validation always includes an empirical component and I therefore use the terms "validation" and "empirical validation" interchangeably in the 1 In the realm of computer simulations the term verification is, somewhat confusingly, reserved for checking wether the simulation software is free from programming errors (so called "bugs") and whether it is faithful to the mathematical model or theory on which it is based. The term validation is used for the empirical testing of the simulation's results.…”

Section: Abstract: Computer Simulations Validation Of Simulations Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…What about applied simulations, though? Agend-based-models are, among other things, used to give advice about particular policy measures, like introducing a new pension plan (A. Harding, Keegan, and Kelly, 2010) or determining the best procedures for research funding (Ahrweiler and Gilbert, 2015). Obviously, validation is of considerable importance if simulations are used for political consulting.…”

Section: P 2)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After all, an administration assigning the task of examining the potential for enhancement of their administrative procedures to a team of simulation scientists might be more interested in the vindication of certain administrative procedures than in their unbiased assessment. However, the "user community view" as described by Ahrweiler and Gilbert (2015) depicts only the outline of the construction and validation process of applied agent-based-models. A more detailed analysis of the validation of applied agent-based-models as provided by A. Harding, Keegan, and Kelly (2010) reveals that there exists a whole array of validation procedures which, if executed properly, limits the risk of producing biased or arbitrary results.…”

Section: P 2)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of Computer Simulations from a Kuhnian Perspective

Arnold

2019

Simulation Foundations, Methods and Applications

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While Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions does not specifically deal with validation, the validation of simulations can be related in various ways to Kuhn's theory: 1) Computer simulations are sometimes depicted as located between experiments and theoretical reasoning, thus potentially blurring the line between theory and empirical research. Does this require a new kind of research logic that is different from the classical paradigm which clearly distinguishes between theory and empirical observation? I argue that this is not the case. 2) Another typical feature of computer simulations is their being "motley" (Winsberg, 2003) with respect to the various premises that enter into simulations. A possible consequence is that in case of failure it can become difficult to tell which of the premises is to blame. Could this issue be understood as fostering Kuhn's mild relativism with respect to theory choice? I argue that there is no need to worry about relativism with respect to computer simulations, in particular.3) The field of social simulations, in particular, still lacks a common understanding concerning the requirements of empirical validation of simulations. Does this mean that social simulations are still in a pre-scientific state in the sense of Kuhn? My conclusion is that despite ongoing efforts to promote quality standards in this field, lack of proper validation is still a problem of many published simulation studies and that, at least large parts of social simulations must be considered as pre-scientific.

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