Message from Editors-in-Chief—The Variety of Methods in Social Computing

Dear Readers, We present six articles in this issue that display a wide range of methods used in social computing. These six articles can be classified into three categories: (1) Theoretical perspectives and formal models, (2) simulation modeling, and (3) computational models. A theoretical perspective offers deep reflection on social phenomena, and a formal model explores theories that could explain them based on certain assumptions. In comparison with SEM causal models, which reveal linear causal relations among variables, simulation models—especially agent-based models—help us build theoretical frameworks that explain the dynamic interplay of multiple factors in a complex world. Computational models, in turn, serve as tools to uncover findings and identify the underlying factors of social phenomena from data.