Sequence analysis and optimal matching methods in sociology - Review and prospect

The authors review all known studies applying optimal matching or alignment (OM) techniques to social science sequence data. Issues of data, coding, te mporality cost setting/algorithm design, and analytic strategies are consid ered and substantive findings are reviewed. The authors conclude that OM te chniques have produced interesting results in a wide variety of areas, the most promising being studies of careers and of sequentially organized cultu ral artifacts.