ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces simulation as a tool for the investigation of social phenomena, focusing particularly on the methodology of simulation and on two approaches which have experienced a recent resurgence of interest: dynamic micro-simulation (DMS) and distributed artificial intelligence (DAI). Although the simulation of social dynamics has a long history in the social sciences (Inbar & Stoll 1972), the advent of much more powerful computers, more powerful computer languages and the greater availability of data about social phenomena have led to increased interest in simulation as a method for developing and testing social theories. (See Chapter 3 of Whicker & Sigelman 1991 for a historical review.) In the first part of this chapter, I outline some methodological principles common to most research using simulation. In the second half, I describe two approaches to simulation, both of which have become more prominent because of developments in computer science and information technology: dynamic micro-simulation and the use of distributed artificial intelligence techniques. There are several styles of simulation other than these two that have been used for modelling social phenomena, including discrete simulation modelling and using differential equation models, but these have already been well documented in the general literature on simulation and will not be considered further here (see, for example, Zeigler 1990, Doran & Gilbert 1993, Pooch & Wall 1993).
