SDIS-GSEQ 2.0 is a general-purpose software for representing, analyzing, recording, and plotting behavioral sequences, a kind of data commonly used in a variety of research fields, such as the study of interaction in clinical and educational settings, social behavior in animals, communication processes, children’s play, and so on. All these phenomena have a prominent feature: the process under study unfolds in time and can be observed objectively and systematically. SDIS-GSEQ is an essential toolbox for performing sequential and synchronic analysis of sequences of concurrent and non-concurrent behavioral codes.

The SDIS data language [1, 2] provides a common framework for representing sequential data, and recognizes five different sequential data types: Events, States, Timed events, Intervals and Multi-events, the last four permitting code co-occurrence. This is especially useful for observational researchers, because standard statistical packages are not suited for analyzing the kind of sequences they obtain. The programs are designed for analyzing behavior sequences in a flexible and general way: data can be obtained by direct observation of dyads, groups, or even single individuals, either in experimental or non experimental settings, as SDIS permits representation of design variables.

A variety of analyses are possible with the GSEQ program: data can simply be described, obtaining measures like frequency, duration, rate, relative frequency, average duration, etc., for every behavioral code in the data. Lag sequential and co-occurrence analyses an be carried out by defining contingency tables for given and target codes, specifying lags, and requesting sequential statistics, like chi-square, adjusted residuals, or Yule’s Q. Users have complete control over which codes are included in the sequential tables and how they must be analyzed. Moreover, they can request that results are provided for pooled combinations of design variables. GSEQ permits also several interesting data modifications, like RECODE and WINDOW, which create new codes that can be subsequently analyzed using sequential techniques. New, more global codes can be created from the existing ones using RECODE or LUMP, for example. In State, Timed event, Interval, and Multi-event data, the WINDOW command is specially useful for defining new codes linked to onsets and offsets of the existing ones; then, the new codes can be included in subsequent lag 0 (or co-occurrence) analyses in order to detect, for example, possible sequential associations between a certain given code and some pre-post periods of some target code.

A first version of the programs was published by Bakeman & Quera [2]. Current version 2.0 includes a new data type (Multi-event), enhanced features in the SDIS language, more result exportation capabilities (into SPSS, BMDP, SAS, ILOG or Excel formats), and a new and enhanced user interface with a menu-driven command composer. The programs run in MS-DOS or as a DOS program under Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.

References

1. Bakeman, R.; Quera, V. (1992). SDIS: A sequential data interchange standard. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 24, 554-559.
2. Bakeman, R.; Quera, V. (1995). Analyzing Interaction: Sequential Analysis with SDIS and GSEQ. New York: Cambridge University Press.