LIMITS: Event History Analysis and optimal matching in life course research

<body> <h1>Methodological objectives in detail:</h1> <h2>Life course research and particularly event history analysis as well as sequence analysis have been already applied in a variety of labour market and gender studies, in the context of migration studies so far also to explain the readiness for (return) migration (Massey/ Espinosa 1997; Dunstmann/ Kirchkamp 2001). </h2> <ul> <li>This project aims to <b>apply event history analysis and optimal matching</b> as a tool for sequence analysis for the research <b>on post migration life courses</b>. While the first is applicative for testing of a hypothesis, the latter allows an explorative approach;</li> <li><b>test and implement</b> the technique of <b>optimal matching</b> in the course of immigrant studies, disseminate information on the advantages as well as possible bottlenecks of the optimal matching tool TDA (freeware) identified in relation to migration and integration research among the scientific community;</li> <li><b>test different decision models</b> focusing either on the level of individual life courses and related events and sequences, or on the level of macro-data recorded in secondary statistics. The interconnection of these two approaches has become a major issue for the scientific community. Their integration into a coherent integrated model is another objective of the proposed research.</li> </ul> </body>