In the observational study of social systems, the major conceptual innovation of the last century was General Systems Theory. Yet the General Systems Theory conceptions of interacting social systems were doomed to remain at the prescientific level of metaphor until a set of statistical techniques were developed and applied. These techniques have come to be known as sequential analysis. Sequential analysis has as its first objective the detection of recurring sequential patterns in a stream of coding categories describing social interaction. These techniques can be employed to study the repertoires of individuals.

"...a reasonably comprehensive introduction to the topic, with an extensive bibliography to help those readers who wish to pursue further reading. The coverage of research literature is impressively up to date. The derivations of statistical models and procedures are generally very clear and technically sound. I particularly like the authors' approach to data analysis, which stresses working within a framework provided by substantive theory rather than testing parametric variations of a model....To those researchers whose substantive research questions are leading them into the new territory of sequential analysis, I recommend this book. A careful reading will help most invesigators gain the skills necessary to begin applying sequential analysis, and will point them in the right direction for gaining additional expertise." Linda M. Collins, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly

"...the reader who is interested in exploring sequential analysis can do no better than to begin with this book..." Dennis Delprato, The Psychological Record