ISSR Workshop | Sequence Analysis with Leonard Seabrooke, Copenhagen Business School

Friday, March 8, 2019 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
UMass Amherst | E20 Machmer Hall

Sequence analysis is a formal set of technical procedures for finding patterns in temporally ordered data. It was developed for detecting patterns within gene sequences and in the 1980s social scientists began using it address social science questions. Sequence analysis has been used to look at everything from folk dance patterns in rural England across time, the career patterns of different kinds of professions, and patterns of economic development in the global economy.

This workshop explains the basics of sequence analysis for social scientists. After explaining how sequence analysis works, the workshop will describe the variety of ways in which the method has been deployed in social science analysis. The workshop then proceeds to learning how to use sequence analysis using an example dataset and how to interpret results, which is taught through the ‘R’ statistical environment. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to utilize basic sequence analysis skills in R and to interpret these results for social science applications.

The workshop is open to all. Basic literacy with R will be very helpful, but not newcomers to R are also welcome. Registration is required.


Leonard Seabrooke is Professor in the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. His research explores the micro-level elements that permit the macro composition of the international political economy and transnational governance. This includes: how professionals compete and coordinate to establish new regulations and new markets; the professional careers of those involved in international economic governance and transnational activism; generational conflicts between groups seeking to secure housing and financial assets within different national systems of residential capitalism; the role of social taboos in family and household formation in different national welfare systems; and the everyday politics behind particular national political and economic institutions. His work frequently draws upon analytical and methodological tools from political economy and economic sociology, including sequence analysis and social network analysis, among others.