Abstract
Recognizable life course research emerged in the social and behavioral sciences in the first half of the 20th century, although it was uncommon (Buhler, 1935; Thomas & Znaniecki, 1927). It is only since the mid-1970s, however, that the term “life course” began to be used frequently and scholars began to describe their studies as life course research (e.g., Elder, 1974; Hogan, 1978). Indeed, it was not until the 1980s, that consensus began to emerge about the differences between life course and related terms, especially life cycle (e.g., O’Rand & Krecker, 1990). Since then, the volume, quality, and sophistication of life course research has increased dramatically.
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George, L.K. (2003). Life Course Research. In: Mortimer, J.T., Shanahan, M.J. (eds) Handbook of the Life Course. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48247-2_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48247-2_31
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