Simulation in Information Systems Research

Simulation is a standard research technique of the natural sciences, social sciences, and engineering disciplines. The paradigm of simulation provides an accepted mode of development, validation, and verification by which complex, highly dynamic interactions can be probed and analyzed. The approach enables researchers to phrase experiments in a controlled environment where the concepts, variables, and relationships of the domain can be manipulated. Then, employing standard experimental design techniques, the simulation represents the behavior of the underlying system. The behavior can be analyzed statistically for its regularity and critical values where the dynamics may become unstable. Further, once the simulation model is developed, sensitivity analysis can be done to probe the interdependencies of the elements of the underlying system upon one another.