Advances in experimental methods have resulted in the generation of enormous volumes of data across the life sciences. Hence clustering and classification techniques that were once predominantly the domain of ecologists are now being used more widely. This 2006 book provides an overview of these important data analysis methods, from long-established statistical methods to more recent machine learning techniques. It aims to provide a framework that will enable the reader to recognise the assumptions and constraints that are implicit in all such techniques. Important generic issues are discussed first and then the major families of algorithms are described. Throughout the focus is on explanation and understanding and readers are directed to other resources that provide additional mathematical rigour when it is required. Examples taken from across the whole of biology, including bioinformatics, are provided throughout the book to illustrate the key concepts and each technique's potential.
At a moderately advanced level, this book seeks to cover the areas of clustering and related methods of data analysis where major advances are being made. Topics include: hierarchical clustering, variable selection and weighting, additive trees and other network models, relevance of neural network models to clustering, the role of computational complexity in cluster analysis, latent class approaches to cluster analysis, theory and method with applications of a hierarchical classes model in psychology and psychopathology, combinatorial data analysis, clusterwise aggregation of relations, review of the Japanese-language results on clustering, review of the Russian-language results on clustering and multidimensional scaling, practical advances, and significance tests.
Research Methods for the Biosciences is the perfect resource for students wishing to develop the crucial skills needed for designing, carrying out, and reporting research, with examples throughout the text drawn from real undergraduate projects.
This book provides an introduction to operational research methods and their application in the agrifood and environmental sectors. It explains the need for multicriteria decision analysis and teaches users how to use recent advances in multicriteria and clustering classification techniques in practice. Further, it presents some of the most common methodologies for statistical analysis and mathematical modeling, and discusses in detail ten examples that explain and show “hands-on” how operational research can be used in key decision-making processes at enterprises in the agricultural food and environmental industries. As such, the book offers a valuable resource especially well suited as a textbook for postgraduate courses.
Clustering techniques are increasingly being put to use in the analysis of high-throughput biological datasets. Novel computational techniques to analyse high throughput data in the form of sequences, gene and protein expressions, pathways, and images are becoming vital for understanding diseases and future drug discovery. This book details the complete pathway of cluster analysis, from the basics of molecular biology to the generation of biological knowledge. The book also presents the latest clustering methods and clustering validation, thereby offering the reader a comprehensive review of clustering analysis in bioinformatics from the fundamentals through to state-of-the-art techniques and applications. Key Features: Offers a contemporary review of clustering methods and applications in the field of bioinformatics, with particular emphasis on gene expression analysis Provides an excellent introduction to molecular biology with computer scientists and information engineering researchers in mind, laying out the basic biological knowledge behind the application of clustering analysis techniques in bioinformatics Explains the structure and properties of many types of high-throughput datasets commonly found in biological studies Discusses how clustering methods and their possible successors would be used to enhance the pace of biological discoveries in the future Includes a companion website hosting a selected collection of codes and links to publicly available datasets
I am very happy to have this opportunity to present the work of Boris Mirkin, a distinguished Russian scholar in the areas of data analysis and decision making methodologies. The monograph is devoted entirely to clustering, a discipline dispersed through many theoretical and application areas, from mathematical statistics and combina torial optimization to biology, sociology and organizational structures. It compiles an immense amount of research done to date, including many original Russian de velopments never presented to the international community before (for instance, cluster-by-cluster versions of the K-Means method in Chapter 4 or uniform par titioning in Chapter 5). The author's approach, approximation clustering, allows him both to systematize a great part of the discipline and to develop many in novative methods in the framework of optimization problems. The optimization methods considered are proved to be meaningful in the contexts of data analysis and clustering. The material presented in this book is quite interesting and stimulating in paradigms, clustering and optimization. On the other hand, it has a substantial application appeal. The book will be useful both to specialists and students in the fields of data analysis and clustering as well as in biology, psychology, economics, marketing research, artificial intelligence, and other scientific disciplines. Panos Pardalos, Series Editor.
The book presents a long list of useful methods for classification, clustering and data analysis. By combining theoretical aspects with practical problems, it is designed for researchers as well as for applied statisticians and will support the fast transfer of new methodological advances to a wide range of applications.
A hands-on guide to making valuable decisions from data using advanced data mining methods and techniques This second installment in the Making Sense of Data series continues to explore a diverse range of commonly used approaches to making and communicating decisions from data. Delving into more technical topics, this book equips readers with advanced data mining methods that are needed to successfully translate raw data into smart decisions across various fields of research including business, engineering, finance, and the social sciences. Following a comprehensive introduction that details how to define a problem, perform an analysis, and deploy the results, Making Sense of Data II addresses the following key techniques for advanced data analysis: Data Visualization reviews principles and methods for understanding and communicating data through the use of visualization including single variables, the relationship between two or more variables, groupings in data, and dynamic approaches to interacting with data through graphical user interfaces. Clustering outlines common approaches to clustering data sets and provides detailed explanations of methods for determining the distance between observations and procedures for clustering observations. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering, partitioned-based clustering, and fuzzy clustering are also discussed. Predictive Analytics presents a discussion on how to build and assess models, along with a series of predictive analytics that can be used in a variety of situations including principal component analysis, multiple linear regression, discriminate analysis, logistic regression, and Naïve Bayes. Applications demonstrates the current uses of data mining across a wide range of industries and features case studies that illustrate the related applications in real-world scenarios. Each method is discussed within the context of a data mining process including defining the problem and deploying the results, and readers are provided with guidance on when and how each method should be used. The related Web site for the series (www.makingsenseofdata.com) provides a hands-on data analysis and data mining experience. Readers wishing to gain more practical experience will benefit from the tutorial section of the book in conjunction with the TraceisTM software, which is freely available online. With its comprehensive collection of advanced data mining methods coupled with tutorials for applications in a range of fields, Making Sense of Data II is an indispensable book for courses on data analysis and data mining at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as a valuable reference for researchers and professionals who are interested in learning how to accomplish effective decision making from data and understanding if data analysis and data mining methods could help their organization.
This monograph is multivariate, multi-perspective and multipurpose. We intend to be innovatively integrative through statistical synthesis. Innovation requires capacity to operate in ways that are not ordinary, which means that conventional computations and generic graphics will not meet the needs of an adaptive approach. Flexible formulation and special schematics are essential elements that must be manageable and economical.
