Resources
NetLogo is fast becoming one of the main tools of choice for agent-based modellers. It is a multi-agent programmable modelling environment. It is used by tens of thousands of students, teachers and researchers worldwide. It is authored by Uri Wilensky, who is currently a professor of Learning Sciences and Computer Science at Northwestern University, and was developed at the Centre for Connected Learning at Northwestern University.
Alternatively, there are Repast and MASON, that typically require more programming knowledge, but can in turn be more flexible regarding the model design.
Leigh Tesfatsion hosts a comprehensive website for agent-based computational economics (ACE) and related fields. Her site features many seminal articles and background literature directly and is an ideal starting point to survey the existing literature in the field.
The Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS) is an interdisciplinary journal for the exploration and understanding of social processes by means of computer simulation. Since its first issue in 1998, it has been a world-wide leading reference for readers interested in social simulation and the application of computer simulation in the social sciences.
Also, there are several mailing lists that may be of interest. SIMSOC addresses issues of simulation in the social sciences in general, while the Society for Computational Economics focuses on applications in economics. Issues of complexity research are discussed on the Complexity Digest mailing list. The openABM website includes a growing collection of tutorials on computational modelling and a mailing list. Finally, NetLogo users maintain an active and often helpful NetLogo users Yahoo group.
There are three international associations that coordinate the efforts of researchers in their respective areas.