Abstract
Many observational systems in basic and applied research produce a record of sequences of events over time. Within such observational systems, important information may be found in the frequency of the transitions between events that does not emerge in the typical researcher's focus on absolute event frequency. Indeed, if many behaviors are controlled by closely adjacent preceding events, then substantial prediction and control can be obtained through knowledge and manipulation of causal event transitions. A method for analyzing and testing sequential dependencies between events is proposed as part of an integrated package of computer-based data entry, storage, and analysis procedures. The mathematical portion of these techniques is based on the statistic, kappa,which is applicable to determining whether particular transitions among events differ from chance and whether particular transitions differ significantly across groups of subjects. Low-cost hardware and software to implement the proposed procedures are described.
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This work has been supported by Grant 1 RO1 HD19245-01A1 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the two senior authors and by grants of equipment from Commodore Computers, Inc., Koala Corporation, and NEC Telephones, Inc.
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Whitehurst, G.J., Fischel, J.E., DeBaryshe, B. et al. Analyzing sequential relations in observational data: A practical guide. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 8, 129–148 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00963577
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00963577