DIVCLUS-T: A monothetic divisive hierarchical clustering method

DIVCLUS-T is a divisive hierarchical clustering algorithm based on a monothetic bipartitional approach allowing the dendrogram of the hierarchy to be read as a decision tree. It is designed for either numerical or categorical data. Like the Ward agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm and the k-means partitioning algorithm, it is based on the minimization of the inertia criterion. However, unlike Ward and k-means, it provides a simple and natural interpretation of the clusters. The price paid by construction in terms of inertia by DIVCLUS-T for this additional interpretation is studied by applying the three algorithms on six databases from the UCI Machine Learning repository. Key words: Divisive clustering; monothetic cluster; decision dendrogram; inertia criterion

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2007
• Where: CSDA
• Authors: Marie Chavent, Yves Lechevallier, Olivier Briant
• Keywords: CSDA 2007, Divisive Hierarchical Clustering, Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm, Inertia Criterion