Introduction to computational social science: principles and applications (2nd ed.)

摘要

For computer scientists, the title of this volume may seem an oxymoron. The social sciences (classically including psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics) use many qualitative methods that have little use for computers beyond word processing and spreadsheets for preparing research budgets. However, the very term "statistics" (coined, in 1749, to describe data about the political state) reflects a long-standing concern of these disciplines for quantitative analysis, and the increased accessibility of computational power has led to the rapid growth of computational social science, represented by a network of regional societies (such as the Computational Social Science Society of the Americas, CSSSA) and journals such as the long-standing Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS) and the newly inaugurated Journal of Computational Social Science (JCSS). This volume, by a recognized leader in the field, is intended as a university textbook introducing the field, but will also be a convenient desk reference for researchers who interact with the field.