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The silhouette score is specialized for measuring cluster quality when the clusters are convex-shaped, and may not perform well if the data clusters have irregular shapes or are of varying sizes. [3] The silhouette can be calculated with any distance metric, such as the Euclidean distance or the Manhattan distance.
The average silhouette of the data is another useful criterion for assessing the natural number of clusters. The silhouette of a data instance is a measure of how closely it is matched to data within its cluster and how loosely it is matched to data of the neighboring cluster, i.e., the cluster whose average distance from the datum is lowest. [8]
Cluster analysis or clustering is the task of grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group (called a cluster) are more similar (in some specific sense defined by the analyst) to each other than to those in other groups (clusters).
The Dunn index (DI) (introduced by J. C. Dunn in 1974) is a metric for evaluating clustering algorithms. [1] [2] This is part of a group of validity indices including the Davies–Bouldin index or Silhouette index, in that it is an internal evaluation scheme, where the result is based on the clustered data itself.
His silhouette display [13] shows the result of a cluster analysis, and the corresponding silhouette coefficient is often used to select the number of clusters. The work on cluster analysis led to a book titled Finding Groups in Data. [14] Rousseeuw was the original developer of the R package cluster along with Mia Hubert and Anja Struyf. [15]
Similar to other clustering evaluation metrics such as Silhouette score, the CH index can be used to find the optimal number of clusters k in algorithms like k-means, where the value of k is not known a priori. This can be done by following these steps: Perform clustering for different values of k. Compute the CH index for each clustering result.
The Davies–Bouldin index (DBI), introduced by David L. Davies and Donald W. Bouldin in 1979, is a metric for evaluating clustering algorithms. [1] This is an internal evaluation scheme, where the validation of how well the clustering has been done is made using quantities and features inherent to the dataset.
The "goodness" of the given value of k can be assessed with methods such as the silhouette method. The medoid of a cluster is defined as the object in the cluster whose sum (and, equivalently, the average) of dissimilarities to all the objects in the cluster is minimal, that is, it is a most centrally located point in the cluster.