Validating sequence analysis typologies using bootstrapping

In this article, we propose a methodology for the validation of sequence analysis typologies based on bootstraps. The method works by comparing the quality of the obtained clustering with the quality obtained by clustering similar but unstructured data. Several models are proposed in order to test the different structuring aspects of the sequences that are important in life course research, namely sequencing, timing and duration. The framework is extended to multichannel sequence analysis by looking at the structure stemming from the association between the channels.