Cluster Analysis in R

Cluster analysis seeks to find groups of observations that are similar to one another, but the identified groups are different from each other. This similarity/difference is captured by the metric called distance. In this chapter, you will learn how to calculate the distance between observations for both continuous and categorical features. You will also develop an intuition for how the scales of your features can affect distance.

This chapter will help you answer the last question from chapter 1—how do you find groups of similar observations (clusters) in your data using the distances that you have calculated? You will learn about the fundamental principles of hierarchical clustering - the linkage criteria and the dendrogram plot - and how both are used to build clusters. You will also explore data from a wholesale distributor in order to perform market segmentation of clients using their spending habits.

In this chapter, you will build an understanding of the principles behind the k-means algorithm, learn how to select the right k when it isn't previously known, and revisit the wholesale data from a different perspective.

In this chapter, you will apply the skills you have learned to explore how the average salary amongst professions have changed over time.