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Model-based demography : essays on integrating data, technique and theory

Late in a career of more than sixty years, Thomas Burch, an internationally known social demographer, undertook a wide-ranging methodological critique of demography. This open access volume contains a selection of resulting papers, some previously unpublished, some published but not readily accessible [from past meetings of The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population and its research committees, or from other small conferences and seminars]. Rejecting the idea that demography is simply a branch of applied statistics, his work views it as an autonomous and complete scientific discipline. When viewed from the perspective of modern philosophy of science, specifically the semantic or model-based school, demography is a balanced discipline, with a rich body of techniques and data, but also with more and better theories than generally recognized. As demonstrated in this book, some demographic techniques can also be seen as theoretical

models, and some substantive/behavioral models, commonly rejected as theory because of inconsistent observations, are now seen as valuable theoretical models, for example demographic transition theory. This book shows how demography can build a strong theoretical edifice on its broad and deep empirical foundation by adoption of the model-based approach to science. But the full-fruits of this approach will require demographers to make greater use of computer modeling [both macro- and micro-simulation], in the statement and manipulation of theoretical ideas, as well as for numerical computation.

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Detail Information
Series Title
-
Call Number
304.6 BUR m
Publisher
Cham, Switzerland : Springer Open.,
Collation
xviii, 200p. : ill.
Language
English
ISBN/ISSN
9783319654331
Classification
304.6
Content Type
-
Media Type
-
Carrier Type
-
Edition
-
Subject(s)
Social sciences
Statistics
Demography
Demography--Mathematical models
Philosophy and science
Specific Detail Info
-
Statement of Responsibility
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