  Research into socio-technical systems like Wikipedia has overlooked important
structural patterns in the coordination of distributed work. This paper argues
for a conceptual reorientation towards sequences as a fundamental unit of
analysis for understanding work routines in online knowledge collaboration. We
outline a research agenda for researchers in computer-supported cooperative
work (CSCW) to understand the relationships, patterns, antecedents, and
consequences of sequential behavior using methods already developed in fields
like bio-informatics. Using a data set of 37,515 revisions from 16,616 unique
editors to 96 Wikipedia articles as a case study, we analyze the prevalence and
significance of different sequences of editing patterns. We illustrate the
mixed method potential of sequence approaches by interpreting the frequent
patterns as general classes of behavioral motifs. We conclude by discussing the
methodological opportunities for using sequence analysis for expanding existing
approaches to analyzing and theorizing about co-production routines in online
knowledge collaboration.
