Hierarchical Cluster

Clustering is the technique of grouping rows together that share similar values across a number of variables. It is a wonderful exploratory technique to help you understand the clumping structure of your data. Hierarchical clustering is appropriate for small tables, up to several thousand rows. It combines rows in a hierarchical sequence portrayed as a tree. In JMP, the tree, also called a dendrogram, is a dynamic, responding graph. You can choose the number of clusters that you like after the tree is built.

Hierarchical clustering is also called agglomerative clustering because it is a combining process. The method starts with each point (row) as its own cluster. At each step the clustering process calculates the distance between each cluster, and combines the two clusters that are closest together. This combining continues until all the points are in one final cluster. The user then chooses the number of clusters that seems right and cuts the clustering tree at that point. The combining record is portrayed as a tree, called a dendogram. The single points are leaves, the final single cluster of all points are the trunk, and the intermediate cluster combinations are branches. Since the process starts with n(n + 1)/2 distances for n points, this method becomes too expensive in memory and time when n is large.

Hierarchical clustering also supports character columns. If the column is ordinal, then the data value used for clustering is just the index of the ordered category, treated as if it were continuous data. If the column is nominal, then the categories must match to contribute a distance of zero. They contribute a distance of 1 otherwise.