Agent-Based Models: (Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences)

Agent-based simulation has become increasingly popular as a modeling approach in the social sciences because it enables researchers to build models where individual entities and their interactions are directly represented. The Second Edition of Nigel Gilbert′s Agent-Based Models introduces this technique; considers a range of methodological and theoretical issues; shows how to design an agent-based model, with a simple example; offers some practical advice about developing, verifying and validating agent-based models; and finally discusses how to plan an agent-based modelling project, publish the results and apply agent-based modeling to formulate and evaluate social and economic policies.

Table of Contents:
Series Editor′s Introduction Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1: The Idea of Agent-Based Modeling 1.1 Agent-Based Modeling 1.2 Some Examples 1.3 The Features of Agent-Based Modeling 1.4 Other Related Modeling Approaches Chapter 2: Agents, Environments, and Timescales 2.1 Agents 2.2 Environments 2.3 Randomness 2.4 Time 2.5 Population Learning Chapter 3: Designing an Agent-Based Model 3.1 Design Steps 3.2 An Example of Developing an Agent-Based Model Chapter 4: Developing an Agent-Based Model 4.1 Modeling Toolkits, Libraries, Languages, Frameworks, and Environments 4.2 Using NetLogo to Build Models 4.3 Building the Collectivities Model Step by Step 4.4 Verification: Getting Rid of the Bugs 4.5 Validation 4.6 Techniques for Validation Chapter 5: Using Agent-Based Models 5.1 Planning an Agent-Based Modeling Project 5.2 Reporting Agent-Based Model Research 5.3 Agent-Based Models for Public Policy Resources Societies and Associations Journals Mailing List and Web Sites Glossary References Index

About the Author :
Nigel Gilbert is Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey, Guildford, England. He is the author or editor of 34 books and many academic papers and was the founding editor of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. His current research focuses on the application of agent-based models to understanding social and economic phenomena, especially the emergence of norms, culture, and innovation. He obtained a doctorate in the sociology of scientific knowledge in 1974 from the University of Cambridge and has subsequently taught at the universities of York and Surrey in England. He is one of the pioneers in the field of social simulation and is past president of the European Social Simulation Association. He is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Review :
The new edition of Agent-Based Models provides the same strong conceptual overview as the first edition, with significant updates and elaborations to reflect ten years of growth in this important approach to modeling.  Nigel Gilbert is one of the fathers of agent-based modeling and in this book provides a great introduction into the field.  A great introduction for social scientists who want to know about agent-based modeling. It offers readers guidelines on how to build such models and what to consider when designing and testing them.  If you are planning to motivate and introduce the field of agent-based modeling to social scientists who have little or no prior knowledge of the topic, then this is your book.