Chinese Journal of Health Statistics 2001;(1):6-8

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-3674.2001.01.002

The Conditional Hierarchical Clustering of the Ordinal Sample

Yi SHEN ; Feng CHEN

Country

China

Language

Chinese

Abstract

Objective The conditional hierarchical clustering for 1-dimensional(1-d) ordinal data was discussed.Methods Because the individuals are ordered in 1-d,the conditional matrix was constructed with all elements in the second-diagonal are 1 and the others are 0.Distance matrix of individuals defined by some particular definition.Then the conditional-distance matrix was made for the hierarchical clustering by connecting the conditional matrix and distance matrix.This method was called 1-dimentsional conditional hierarchical clustering.An example was illustrated by this method and a Monte Carol study showed that method was feasible and robust.Results Compared with the least-squares partition,this method is easy to understand,easy to practice and easy to compute.It also can give us a stable result.Conclusion Because of the austere theory,the simple thought and the convenient application,it's a good method for the 1-d ordinal data.