Modelling and Simulation

Quantitative simulation and modelling are perhaps the most obvious examples of the potential for e-Research methods to revolutionize the study of complex socio-economic problems, and their applications are becoming increasingly widespread. This chapter provides an introduction to the state of the art in agent-based modelling techniques, tools and services. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the future for social simulation modelling and e-Research, including remaining obstacles and barriers. Issues addressed include real-time social simulation; self-organization and model learning; crowdsourced simulation models; and the social, cultural, political and ethical issues associated with the e-simulation process.