Practical Guide To Cluster Analysis In R

Although there are several good books on unsupervised machine learning, we felt that many of them are too theoretical. This book provides practical guide to cluster analysis, elegant visualization and interpretation. It contains 5 parts. Part I provides a quick introduction to R and presents required R packages, as well as, data formats and dissimilarity measures for cluster analysis and visualization. Part II covers partitioning clustering methods, which subdivide the data sets into a set of k groups, where k is the number of groups pre-specified by the analyst. Partitioning clustering approaches include: K-means, K-Medoids (PAM) and CLARA algorithms. In Part III, we consider hierarchical clustering method, which is an alternative approach to partitioning clustering. The result of hierarchical clustering is a tree-based representation of the objects called dendrogram. In this part, we describe how to compute, visualize, interpret and compare dendrograms. Part IV describes clustering validation and evaluation strategies, which consists of measuring the goodness of clustering results. Among the chapters covered here, there are: Assessing clustering tendency, Determining the optimal number of clusters, Cluster validation statistics, Choosing the best clustering algorithms and Computing p-value for hierarchical clustering. Part V presents advanced clustering methods, including: Hierarchical k-means clustering, Fuzzy clustering, Model-based clustering and Density-based clustering.

The purpose of this book is to thoroughly prepare the reader for applied research in clustering. Cluster analysis comprises a class of statistical techniques for classifying multivariate data into groups or clusters based on their similar features. Clustering is nowadays widely used in several domains of research, such as social sciences, psychology, and marketing, highlighting its multidisciplinary nature. This book provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to clustering and offers practical guidelines for applying clustering tools by carefully chosen real-life datasets and extensive data analyses. The procedures addressed in this book include traditional hard clustering methods and up-to-date developments in soft clustering. Attention is paid to practical examples and applications through the open source statistical software R. Commented R code and output for conducting, step by step, complete cluster analyses are available. The book is intended for researchers interested in applying clustering methods. Basic notions on theoretical issues and on R are provided so that professionals as well as novices with little or no background in the subject will benefit from the book.

Although there are several good books on principal component methods (PCMs) and related topics, we felt that many of them are either too theoretical or too advanced. This book provides a solid practical guidance to summarize, visualize and interpret the most important information in a large multivariate data sets, using principal component methods in R. The visualization is based on the factoextra R package that we developed for creating easily beautiful ggplot2-based graphs from the output of PCMs. This book contains 4 parts. Part I provides a quick introduction to R and presents the key features of FactoMineR and factoextra. Part II describes classical principal component methods to analyze data sets containing, predominantly, either continuous or categorical variables. These methods include: Principal Component Analysis (PCA, for continuous variables), simple correspondence analysis (CA, for large contingency tables formed by two categorical variables) and Multiple CA (MCA, for a data set with more than 2 categorical variables). In Part III, you'll learn advanced methods for analyzing a data set containing a mix of variables (continuous and categorical) structured or not into groups: Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) and Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA). Part IV covers hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC), which is useful for performing clustering with a data set containing only categorical variables or with a mixed data of categorical and continuous variables.

Summary R in Action, Second Edition presents both the R language and the examples that make it so useful for business developers. Focusing on practical solutions, the book offers a crash course in statistics and covers elegant methods for dealing with messy and incomplete data that are difficult to analyze using traditional methods. You'll also master R's extensive graphical capabilities for exploring and presenting data visually. And this expanded second edition includes new chapters on time series analysis, cluster analysis, and classification methodologies, including decision trees, random forests, and support vector machines. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology Business pros and researchers thrive on data, and R speaks the language of data analysis. R is a powerful programming language for statistical computing. Unlike general-purpose tools, R provides thousands of modules for solving just about any data-crunching or presentation challenge you're likely to face. R runs on all important platforms and is used by thousands of major corporations and institutions worldwide. About the Book R in Action, Second Edition teaches you how to use the R language by presenting examples relevant to scientific, technical, and business developers. Focusing on practical solutions, the book offers a crash course in statistics, including elegant methods for dealing with messy and incomplete data. You'll also master R's extensive graphical capabilities for exploring and presenting data visually. And this expanded second edition includes new chapters on forecasting, data mining, and dynamic report writing. What's Inside Complete R language tutorial Using R to manage, analyze, and visualize data Techniques for debugging programs and creating packages OOP in R Over 160 graphs About the Author Dr. Rob Kabacoff is a seasoned researcher and teacher who specializes in data analysis. He also maintains the popular Quick-R website at statmethods.net. Table of Contents PART 1 GETTING STARTED Introduction to R Creating a dataset Getting started with graphs Basic data management Advanced data management PART 2 BASIC METHODS Basic graphs Basic statistics PART 3 INTERMEDIATE METHODS Regression Analysis of variance Power analysis Intermediate graphs Resampling statistics and bootstrapping PART 4 ADVANCED METHODS Generalized linear models Principal components and factor analysis Time series Cluster analysis Classification Advanced methods for missing data PART 5 EXPANDING YOUR SKILLS Advanced graphics with ggplot2 Advanced programming Creating a package Creating dynamic reports Advanced graphics with the lattice package available online only from manning.com/kabacoff2

Fun guide to learning Bayesian statistics and probability through unusual and illustrative examples. Probability and statistics are increasingly important in a huge range of professions. But many people use data in ways they don't even understand, meaning they aren't getting the most from it. Bayesian Statistics the Fun Way will change that. This book will give you a complete understanding of Bayesian statistics through simple explanations and un-boring examples. Find out the probability of UFOs landing in your garden, how likely Han Solo is to survive a flight through an asteroid shower, how to win an argument about conspiracy theories, and whether a burglary really was a burglary, to name a few examples. By using these off-the-beaten-track examples, the author actually makes learning statistics fun. And you'll learn real skills, like how to: - How to measure your own level of uncertainty in a conclusion or belief - Calculate Bayes theorem and understand what it's useful for - Find the posterior, likelihood, and prior to check the accuracy of your conclusions - Calculate distributions to see the range of your data - Compare hypotheses and draw reliable conclusions from them Next time you find yourself with a sheaf of survey results and no idea what to do with them, turn to Bayesian Statistics the Fun Way to get the most value from your data.

Handbook of Cluster Analysis provides a comprehensive and unified account of the main research developments in cluster analysis. Written by active, distinguished researchers in this area, the book helps readers make informed choices of the most suitable clustering approach for their problem and make better use of existing cluster analysis tools.The

Guides professionals and students through the rapidly growing field of machine learning with hands-on examples in the popular R programming language Machine learning—a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which enables computers to improve their results and learn new approaches without explicit instructions—allows organizations to reveal patterns in their data and incorporate predictive analytics into their decision-making process. Practical Machine Learning in R provides a hands-on approach to solving business problems with intelligent, self-learning computer algorithms. Bestselling author and data analytics experts Fred Nwanganga and Mike Chapple explain what machine learning is, demonstrate its organizational benefits, and provide hands-on examples created in the R programming language. A perfect guide for professional self-taught learners or students in an introductory machine learning course, this reader-friendly book illustrates the numerous real-world business uses of machine learning approaches. Clear and detailed chapters cover data wrangling, R programming with the popular RStudio tool, classification and regression techniques, performance evaluation, and more. Explores data management techniques, including data collection, exploration and dimensionality reduction Covers unsupervised learning, where readers identify and summarize patterns using approaches such as apriori, eclat and clustering Describes the principles behind the Nearest Neighbor, Decision Tree and Naive Bayes classification techniques Explains how to evaluate and choose the right model, as well as how to improve model performance using ensemble methods such as Random Forest and XGBoost Practical Machine Learning in R is a must-have guide for business analysts, data scientists, and other professionals interested in leveraging the power of AI to solve business problems, as well as students and independent learners seeking to enter the field.

Cluster randomised trials are trials in which groups (or clusters) of individuals are randomly allocated to different forms of treatment. In health care, these trials often compare different ways of managing a disease or promoting healthy living, in contrast to conventional randomised trials which randomise individuals to different treatments, classically comparing new drugs with a placebo. They are increasingly common in health services research. This book addresses the statistical, practical, and ethical issues arising from allocating groups of individuals, or clusters, to different interventions. Key features: Guides readers through the stages of conducting a trial, from recruitment to reporting. Presents a wide range of examples with particular emphasis on trials in health services research and primary care, with both principles and techniques explained. Topics are specifically presented in the order in which investigators think about issues when they are designing a trial. Combines information on the latest developments in the field together with a practical guide to the design and implementation of cluster randomised trials. Explains principles and techniques through numerous examples including many from the authors own experience. Includes a wide range of references for those who wish to read further. This book is intended as a practical guide, written for researchers from the health professions including doctors, psychologists, and allied health professionals, as well as statisticians involved in the design, execution, analysis and reporting of cluster randomised trials. Those with a more general interest will find the plentiful examples illuminating.