ABSTRACT

Research methods with roots in complexity science are increasingly popular in social research. However, they are not widespread and have potential to deliver value more fully and consistently to social research and methodology. One reason for this is that methods are often used alone, or only with traditional social research methods. We attempt to support and catalyse the use of complexity-framed methods in combination in social research, by systematically reviewing which methods framed in the language of complexity (not including traditional social research methods) have been combined, how, and why. We do this to make clear the state-of-the-art of combinations and to consider gaps and potential new combinations. We find many examples of different methods used together, with simulation methods well-represented. Most examples appear in recent years despite the methods, and interest in complexity, being around much longer. We identify four types of combination, seven purposes, and consider future directions.

摘要

根植于复杂性科学的研究方法在社会研究中越来越流行。然而，它们并不普遍，并且有可能更全面、更一致地为社会研究和方法提供价值。原因之一是这些方法通常单独使用，或者仅与传统的社会研究方法一起使用。我们试图通过系统地回顾哪些以复杂性语言（不包括传统的社会研究方法）为框架的方法、如何结合以及为什么结合，来支持和促进在社会研究中结合使用复杂框架方法。我们这样做是为了明确组合的最新技术，并考虑差距和潜在的新组合。我们发现了许多不同方法一起使用的例子，模拟方法得到了很好的体现。尽管这些方法和对复杂性的兴趣已经存在了很多，但大多数示例都是在最近几年出现的。我们确定了四种类型的组合、七个目的，并考虑了未来的方向。