Leveraging LLM-based agents for social science research: insights from citation network simulations

📝 Original Info

• Title: Leveraging LLM-based agents for social science research: insights from citation network simulations
• ArXiv ID: 2511.03758
• Date: 2025-11-05
• Authors: ** 논문에 명시된 저자 정보가 제공되지 않았습니다. (저자 명단이 필요하면 원문을 확인해 주세요.) — **

📝 Abstract

The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) demonstrates their potential to encapsulate the logic and patterns inherent in human behavior simulation by leveraging extensive web data pre-training. However, the boundaries of LLM capabilities in social simulation remain unclear. To further explore the social attributes of LLMs, we introduce the CiteAgent framework, designed to generate citation networks based on human-behavior simulation with LLM-based agents. CiteAgent successfully captures predominant phenomena in real-world citation networks, including power-law distribution, citational distortion, and shrinking diameter. Building on this realistic simulation, we establish two LLM-based research paradigms in social science: LLM-SE (LLM-based Survey Experiment) and LLM-LE (LLM-based Laboratory Experiment). These paradigms facilitate rigorous analyses of citation network phenomena, allowing us to validate and challenge existing theories. Additionally, we extend the research scope of traditional science of science studies through idealized social experiments, with the simulation experiment results providing valuable insights for real-world academic environments. Our work demonstrates the potential of LLMs for advancing science of science research in social science.

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