How you can tell if the simulations in computational criminology are any good

Computational criminology applies computer simulations to study topics of interest for criminologists. Just as for all computer modelling in science, the validity of the simulations ultimately depends on whether they are able to reproduce empirical phenomena with sufficient accuracy. The only way in which this can be determined is by comparing model output to real observations. This paper provides an overview of how such model evaluations can be undertaken.

Richard BerkEmail:

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Richard Berk   is a professor in the Departments of Statistics and Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Berk is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association and the Academy of Experimental Criminology, and has been a member the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics of the National Research Council and the Social Science Research Council’s Board of Directors. He has received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award given by the Methodology Section of the American Sociological Association. Professor Berk’s current work focuses on statistical learning procedures and other forms of inductive data analysis.