A confusion index for measuring separation and clustering. (June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Longford, Nicholas T; Bartošová, Jitka
• Is Part Of: Statistical modelling. Volume 14:Number 3(2014)
• Page Start: 229
• Page End: 255
• Publication Date: 2014-06
• Subjects: clusters -- confusion -- mixture -- satellite -- separation; Linear models (Statistics) -- Periodicals; Mathematical models -- Periodicals; Modèles linéaires (Statistique) -- Périodiques; Modèles mathématiques -- Périodiques; Modèle statistique; Modèle linéaire; Modélisation statistique; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 519.5011
• DOI: 10.1177/1471082X13503454
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-082X

Abstract

An index for characterizing the separation of two distributions is introduced. It is applied to assessing whether mixture components are clusters. A related property of being a satellite and a partial ordering of the components are defined. A sequence of clustering structures is defined for a finite mixture with a continuum of thresholds that qualify a cluster. The approach is suitable for outcomes with arbitrary univariate or multivariate distributions and their mixtures. The properties of the index are explored by simulations and on examples.