Introduction to Computational Social Science: Principles and Applications

by Claudio Cioffi-Revilla

Overview

This textbook provides a comprehensive and reader-friendly introduction to the field of computational social science (CSS). Presenting a unified treatment, the text examines in detail the four key methodological approaches of automated social information extraction, social network analysis, social complexity theory, and social simulation modeling. This updated new edition has been enhanced with numerous review questions and exercises to test what has been learned, deepen understanding through problem-solving, and to practice writing code to implement ideas. Topics and features: contains more than a thousand questions and exercises, together with a list of acronyms and a glossary; examines the similarities and differences between computers and social systems; presents a focus on automated information extraction; discusses the measurement, scientific laws, and generative theories of social complexity in CSS; reviews the methodology of social simulations, covering both variable- and object-oriented models.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319501314
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	06/29/2017
Series:	Texts in Computer Science
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Dr. Claudio Cioffi-Revilla is University Professor and Professor of Computational Social Science, founding and former Chair of the Department of Computational Social Science, and founding and current Director of the Center for Social Complexity at George Mason University, VA, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction.- Computation and Social Science.- Automated Information Extraction.- Social Networks.- Social Complexity I: Origins and Measurement.- Social Complexity II: Laws.- Social Complexity III: Theories.- Simulations I: Methodology.- Simulations II: Variable-Oriented Models.- Simulations III: Object-Oriented Models.

Editorial Reviews

This book is organized in a rigorous manner: each chapter includes an introductory abstract, a short chronology of the main achievements related to the chapter’s topic, well-balanced formalized-intuitive knowledge content, a significant number of questions … and finally a list of future readings. … I think Claudio Cioffi-Revilla’s work hits its assumed target: to be an affordable textbook for students and, at the same time, a useful support manual for instructors interested in learning or teaching computational social science.” (Valentin V. Inceu, Computing Reviews, February, 2019)

“This well-organized book provides a timely and comprehensive systematic introduction to CSS. The chapters are relatively independent. Therefore, readers may quickly grasp related information by reading chapters selectively. … this book is intended as a CSS textbook for graduate students … .” (Chenyi Hu, Computing Reviews, August 11, 2014)

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From the Publisher