Abstract
A method for selecting multiple target nodes within a social network includes a selecting step, a simulation passing node number calculating step and a target node updating step. The selecting step is performed to select a plurality of simulation nodes from a plurality of nodes in the social network according to a simplified swarm forming rule. The simulation passing node number calculating step is performed to calculate a simulation passing node number of the simulation nodes according to a Monte Carlo simulation method and a layer search method. The target node updating step is performed to update the simulation nodes and the simulation passing node number as the target nodes and the target passing node number according to a simplified swarm updating rule, respectively.