Document Type
Report
Abstract
We investigate techniques to automatically determine the number of clusters to return from hierarchical clustering and segmentation algorithms. We propose an efficient algorithm, the L Method, that finds the "knee" in a '# of clusters vs. clustering evaluation metric' graph. Using the knee is well-known but is not a particularly well-understood method to determine the number of clusters. We explore the feasibility of this method, and attempt to determine in which situations it will and will not work.
Publication Date
6-11-2003
Recommended Citation
Salvador, S., Chan, P.K. (2003). Determining the number of clusters/segments in hierarchical clustering/segmentation algorithms (CS-2003-18). Melbourne, FL. Florida Institute of Technology.
