New Developments in Sequence Analysis

Christian Brzinsky-Fay and Ulrich Kohler: New Developments in Sequence Analysis, Sociological Methods Research 2010 38: 359-364.

Sequence analysis was originally invented by biologists with the aim of comparing DNA sequences in order to find out to what extent two DNA strands are homologous

Optimal Matching Analysis and Life-Course Data: The Importance of Duration

Brendan Halpin: Optimal Matching Analysis and Life-Course Data: The Importance of Duration, Sociological Methods Research 2010 38: 365-388.

The optimal matching (OM) algorithm is widely used for sequence analysis insociology. It has a natural interpretation for discrete-time sequences but isalso widely used for life-history data, which are

Setting Cost in Optimal Matching to Uncover Contemporaneous Socio-Temporal Patterns

Laurent Lesnard: Setting Cost in Optimal Matching to Uncover Contemporaneous Socio-Temporal Patterns, Sociological Methods Research 2010 38: 389-419.

This article addresses the question of the effects of cost setting on the kind of temporal patterns optimal matching (OM) can uncover when applied to social science data.

New Life for Old Ideas: The ‘‘Second Wave’’ of Sequence Analysis Bringing the ‘‘Course’’ Back Into the Life Course

Silke Aisenbrey and Anette E. Fasang: New Life for Old Ideas: The ‘‘Second Wave’’ of Sequence Analysis Bringing the ‘‘Course’’ Back Into the Life Course, Sociological Methods Research 2010 38: 420-462.

In this article the authors draw attention to the most recent and promising developments of sequence analysis.

Complexity of Categorical Time Series

Cees H. Elzinga: Complexity of Categorical Time Series, Sociological Methods Research 2010 38: 463-481.

Categorical time series, covering comparable time spans, are often quite different in a number of aspects: the number of distinct states, the number of transitions, and the distribution of durations

My Brilliant Career: Characterizing the Early Labor Market Trajectories of British Women From Generation X

Michael Anyadike-Danes and Duncan McVicar: My Brilliant Career: Characterizing the Early Labor Market Trajectories of British Women From Generation X Sociological Methods Research 2010 38: 482-512.

This article uses longitudinal data from the British Cohort Study to examinethe early labor market trajectories