Selected Papers on Discrete-Time Survival Analysis

Willett, J. B., and Singer, J. D.  (1995).  It's Deja Vu All Over Again: Using Multiple-Spell Discrete-Time Survival Analysis.  Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 20(1), 41-67.

Technical presentation extending the single-spell discrete-time survival analysis approach to multiple spells.  Critical terms are defined, a model specified, a likelihood function derived, and a method of ML estimation developed.  A data-based example is provided, using data on the duration of repeated spells of teaching in secondary schools.

Willett, J. B., and Singer, J. D.  (1993).  Investigating Onset, Cessation, Relapse And Recovery: Why You Should, And How You Can, Use Discrete-Time Survival Analysis.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, special issue on Quantitative Methodology in the Measurement of Change, 61(6), 952-965.

Extended comprehensive presentation of the application of single-spell discrete-time survival analysis to investigate the onset and cessation of critical human conditions (such as developmental stage, psychological condition, addiction, etc.) and their treatment.  Issues of research design, measurement, and data-analysis are discussed.

Singer, J. D., and Willett, J. B.  (1993).  It's About Time: Using Discrete-Time Survival Analysis To Study Duration And The Timing Of Events.  Journal of Educational Statistics, 18, 155-195.

Technical presentation of single spell discrete-time survival analysis, with a data-based example.  Critical terms -- hazard probability, survivor probability, and median lifetime -- are defined, a discrete-time likelihood function is derived, and a ML method of model-fitting and parameter estimation, utilizing standard logistic regression analysis, is described.

Willett, J. B., and Singer, J. D.  (1991).  From Whether To When: New Methods For Studying Student Dropout And Teacher Attrition.  Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 407-450.

Parallel presentation to the Singer & Willett (1991) paper that overviews the implementation and argues for the advantages of survival analysis for investigating the educational career, particularly student dropout and teacher attrition.  Issues of research design, measurement, and data-analysis are discussed.

Singer, J. D., and Willett, J. B.  (1991).  Modeling The Days Of Our Lives: Using Survival Analysis When Designing And Analyzing Longitudinal Studies Of Duration and the Timing Of Events.  Psychological Bulletin, 110(2), 268-290.

Overview of how survival analysis can be used to investigate human development in order to address questions of whether and when developmental milestones occur.  Issues of research design, measurement, and data-analysis are discussed.