Computer simulation approaches are starting to be used more extensively throughout scientific investigations. Some scientists, however, are skeptical about the benefits of simulation. We present computer simulation as a scientific instrument in order to explore issues of their construction and use, which we believe might increase their acceptance within science. We highlight the need to understand the model which the simulation implements, and examine the importance of calibrating simulations and presenting them in an open way to provide scientific reproducibility.
full paper: PDF 196K
@inproceedings(SS-CoSMoS12-instr,
author = "Paul S. Andrews and Susan Stepney and Jon Timmis",
title = "Simulation as a Scientific Instrument",
pages = {1-10},
crossref = "CoSMoS12"
)
@proceedings(CoSMoS12,
editor = "Susan Stepney and Paul S. Andrews and Mark Read",
title = "Proceedings of the 2012 Workshop on Complex Systems Modelling and Simulation,
Orleans, France, September 2012",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the 2012 Workshop on Complex Systems Modelling and Simulation,
Orleans, France, September 2012",
publisher = "Luniver Press",
year = 2012
)