Creating Realistic Synthetic Populations at Varying Spatial Scales: A Comparative Critique of Population Synthesis Techniques

Harland, Kirk and Heppenstall, Alison and Smith, Dianna and Birkin, Mark (2012) Creating Realistic Synthetic Populations at Varying Spatial Scales: A Comparative Critique of Population Synthesis Techniques. Journal of Artifical Societies and Social Simulation, 15 (1). pp. 1-15. ISSN 1460-7425

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Abstract

There are several established methodologies for generating synthetic populations. These include deterministic reweighting, conditional probablility (Monte Carlo simulation) and simulated annealing. However, each of these approaches is limited by, for example, the level of geography to which it can be applied, or the number of characteristics of the real population that can be replicated. The research examines and critiques the performance of each of these methods over varying spatial scales. Results show that the most consistent and accurate populations generated over all the spatial scales are produced from the simulated annealing algorithm. The relative merits and limitations of each method are evaluated in the discussion.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Conditional Probability; Deterministic Reweighting; Population Synthesis; Simulated Annealing; Spatial Scales
Subjects: 5. Quantitative Data Handling and Data Analysis > 5.13 Simulation
Depositing User: TALIS User
Date Deposited: 13 Mar 2012 16:44
Last Modified: 14 Jul 2021 13:55
URI: https://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/id/eprint/2236

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