GETTING AWAY FROM NUMBERS: USING QUALITATIVE OBSERVATION FOR AGENT-BASED MODELING

Abstract

Although in many social sciences there is a radical division between studies based on quantitative (e.g. statistical) and qualitative (e.g. ethnographic) methodologies and their associated epistemological commitments, agent-based simulation fits into neither camp, and should be capable of modelling both quantitative and qualitative data. Nevertheless, most agent-based models (ABMs) are founded on quantitative data. This paper explores some of the methodological and practical problems involved in basing an ABM on qualitative participant observation and proposes some advice for modelers.