Table 1 Summary of texts included in the review
Author and year | Type of text | Main discipline | Main focus |
|---|---|---|---|
Adams et al. [25] (2021) | Review/theoretical | Health policy, science and technology studies | Explores participatory modelling literature within health and in water management; draws on STS theory to think about new approaches for health modelling |
Anderson [11] (2021) | Theoretical | History of public health COVID modelling | Examines modelling as a “crisis technology” – considers how COVID might be known as a more heterogenous object of knowledge |
Atkinson and Wells [79] (2015) | Review/theoretical | Health policy | Reviews literature to determine range of uses of system dynamics modelling for health policy, and the effectiveness of these applications |
Atkinson and Knowles [58] (2018) | Case study | Health policy—alcohol policy | Explores feasibility of participatory agent-based models to support decision-makers and stakeholders test different policy scenarios in context of complexity and uncertainty around alcohol policy decisions |
Atkinson and Skinner [32] (2020) | Position paper/Case study | Public health; mental health policy | Discusses need for a predictive planning framework for mental health policy and the role of systems models and simulation to inform decision making |
Atkinson and Skinner [36] (2020) | Case study | Mental health policy | Describes the development of a participatory system dynamics model and its use in predicting trends in suicidal behaviour based on different intervention scenarios |
Black and Andersen [68] (2012) | Theoretical/Methodological | Systems science | Discusses models as sociological boundary objects; deals with friction in collaboration |
Bou Nassar and Malard [56] (2021) | Case study | Water management | Explores storytelling techniques as part of participatory approach to modelling with marginalised, linguistically diverse indigenous communities in Mayan Guatemala |
Brugnach and Tagg [43] (2007) | Case study | Water management | Explores policymakers’ lack of trust in modelling tools; shows pubic confidence models is dependent on addressing uncertainties |
Callon and Law [74] (2005) | Theoretical | Sociology | Explores the complex nature of the boundary between qualitative (judgement) and quantitative (calculation). Develops concept of ‘qualculation’ to capture the judgement/passion aspect of number-based reasoning |
de Oliveira Morais and Kuhlberg [46] (2021) | Case study | Health policy and community-based system dynamics | Examines impact of modelling exercises on knowledge to policy translation |
Deutsch and Lustfield [50] (2021) | Case study | Public Health | Explores method to increase role of ‘personal experience’ participants in model building |
Elsawah and Filatova [24] (2020) | Review/Theoretical | SES modelling | Outlines key challenges for modelling: including ‘bridging epistemologies across disciplines’, combining quant/qual methods and data sources, ‘integrating the human dimension’ |
Falconi and Palmer [60] (2017) | Theoretical/Methodological | Water resource management | Develops 2-stage evaluation framework to show effective participatory models (1) facilitate dialogue (as boundary objects) and (2) improve accessibility of technical knowledge |
Freebairn and Rychetnik [44] (2017) | Empirical—3 case studies | Health policy | Describes how systems science methods can build on knowledge mobilisation approaches for public health topics |
Freebairn and Atkinson [45] (2018) | Empirical—3 case studies | Health policy | Explores experience of model building participants, including policymakers and health service providers and their perceptions of value and efficacy of modelling |
Freebairn [39] (2019) | Case Study | Health policy | Doctoral thesis exploring implementation and value of participatory systems modelling of Diabetes in Pregnancy in Australia |
Freebairn and Atkinson [42] (2019) | Empirical—3 case studies | Health policy | Explores decision-making processes in participatory model development for public health policy practice |
Frerichs and Lich [62] (2016) | Case study | Community health | Explores how application of social theory can constructively aid group modelling process for health insights |
Gilbert and Terna [34] (2000) | Theoretical/Methodological | Computer simulation/Social science | Describes techniques for building agent-based models as a ‘third way’ of doing social science |
Gray and Gray [64] (2013) | Theoretical/Methodological | Systems science | Describes design and use of participatory modelling tool ‘Mental Modeler’ that surfaces mental models of stakeholders |
Hosseinichimeh and Kim [48] (2019) | Case study | Systems science | Explores how different levels of stakeholder behaviour—individual, organisational and policy—are reflected in model building |
Huang, Hmelo-Silver [65] (2018) | Case study | Citizen science | Explores how ‘Mental Modeler’ participatory modelling tools functions as a boundary object in citizen science projects |
Ibrahim Shire and Jun [33] (2020) | Case study | Healthcare systems | Examines perspectives of health care workers as participants in system dynamics modelling |
Johnson [22] (2015) | Case study | Water and Soil Management | Explores role of ABMs as ‘interested amateurs’ to help draw out discussions among policy experts |
Jordan and Gray [23] (2018) | Review article | SES modelling | Presents key questions to guide future participatory modelling inquiry |
Kaehne [2] (2021) | Theoretical/Methodological | Modelling and COVID evaluation | Response to Pawson [1]—Epidemiological modelling in COVID has shown the dangers of neglecting local conditions by making assumptions about generalised living conditions of communities |
Lahsen [73] (2005) | Case study | Social studies of science | Draws on ethnography with climate scientists to explore the epistemology of models and how uncertainties operate as part of modelling practice |
Landström et al. [26] (2011) | Case study | Water management, social studies of science | Examines public controversy and participatory modelling experiment in water management to explore the contribution of non-scientific expertise to environmental knowledge |
Langellier and Kuhlberg [37] (2019) | Case study | Health policy and community-based system dynamics | Explores role of participatory modelling in 10 Latin American countries for engaging stakeholders in complex systems thinking |
Matthews and Gilbert [40] (2007) | Review article | Land-use modelling | Reviews applications of agent-based land-use modelling to understand the value of the tools as decision support tools |
Muttalib and Ballard [49] (2021) | Case study | Healthcare systems | Explores role of group model building in resource limited setting to create shared mental model in health services |
O’Donnell and Atkinson [35] (2017) | Theoretical | Health policy | Explores how models engage a range of evidence typologies. Emphasises that complex problems require integration and triangulation of a range of evidence types |
Occhipinti and Skinner [38] (2021) | Case Study | Mental health policy | Explores how systems modelling can mitigate competing priorities between different levels of government that undermine investment |
Osgood [41] (2017) | Theoretical | Systems science/public health | Reflects on trends in health applications of systems science and the implications for health modelling |
Østebø [12] (2021) | Monologue/Case study | Anthropology | Explores how a village in Ethiopia has become a policy model. Considers how policy models arise, how they travel and how the village’s status is impacted by being a model |
Pawson [1] (2021) | Theoretical/Methodological | Modelling and COVID evaluation studies | Calls for evaluation methods to be applied to models |
Rhodes and Lancaster [80] (2020) | Theoretical | Public health sociology | Describes how models are not only informing evidence-making policy decisions but they are feeding citizen science and social actions around COVID |
Rhodes and Lancaster [81] (2020) | Theoretical | Public health sociology | Explores public controversies around COVID models and considers the implications of a science-in-action approach to modelling which explores the social life of models |
Rhodes and Lancaster [75] (2020) | Case study | Public health sociology | Explores how pandemic models relate to implementation contexts and the implications for evidence-based approaches in global health |
Rhodes and Lancaster [72] (2021) | Empirical study | Public health sociology | Builds on Callon and Law [74] to explore how model results travel and go beyond ‘evidence-based’ ideas when they move in policy and practice spaces |
Rouwette and Bleijenbergh [63] (2016) | Case study | Public policy | Explores modelling practice in ambiguous and conflicted situation |
Rouwette and Korzilius [61] (2011) | Empirical study | Social psychology and systems science | Explores role of group model building in changing attitudes, subjective norms and intentions. Counterintuitive insights are crucial but participants don’t often recognise mental model changes |
Saltelli and Bammer [82] (2020) | Theoretical/Best practice guide | Modelling and COVID | Outlines ‘best practices’ for responsible, transparent modelling including ‘match purpose with context’ as results from model will reflect the interests, disciplines and biases of the developers |
Schubert [70] (2015) | Theoretical | Science and technology studies | Examines how computer simulations generate new forms of social relations |
Singer and Gray [66] (2017) | Case study | Environmental science | Explores how using ‘Mental Modeler’ tools in participatory modelling in crisis can help community recovery efforts |
Siokou and Morgan [47] (2014) | Review article | Health policy and practice | Discusses evidence of effectiveness of group model building approaches applied in preventive health |
Smetschka and Gaube [57] (2020) | Case study | Agricultural development | Discusses potential impact of participatory modelling for transdisciplinary research in relation to 3 types of knowledge: systems, target and transformation knowledge |
Sterling and Zellner [53] (2019) | Review article | Environmental modelling | Draws on reflections of experienced modellers and review of literature to explore how participatory modelling builds collective knowledge and social capital |
Van Bruggen and Nikolic [55] (2019) | Review/theoretical | Climate policy | Explores the role of models in wider system transformation. Distinguishes transformative approaches as those that engage in process of learning and critical reflection of problems |
Voinov and Kolagani [52] (2016) | Review article | Environmental modelling | Reviews principles that guide participatory modelling and how stakeholder participation is changing with new technology advances and methods |
Voinov and Gaddis [59] (2017) | Theoretical/methodological | Environmental modelling | Argues that modellers embrace their values. Modellers have responsibility to communicate model results for public understanding and are framed to influence values in an appropriate way |
Williams [54] (2020) | Theoretical | Climate change adaptation | Describes necessary conditions for participatory modelling for climate change adaptation to increase autonomy of marginalised stakeholder groups |