Question 1

Measuring similarity in terms of distance between pairs of objects is the most common approach used in cluster analysis for grouping similar objects together.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

In SPSS,the main program for hierarchical clustering of objects or cases is ________.

Accepted Answer

A) VARCLUS 
B) CLUSTER ANALYSIS 
C) FASTCLUS 
D) HIERARCHICAL CLUSTER

Question 3

Cluster analysis does not classify variables as dependent or independent.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

________ is a clustering procedure characterized by the development of a tree-like structure.

Accepted Answer

A) Non-hierarchical clustering 
B) Hierarchical clustering 
C) TwoStep clustering 
D) Optimizing partitioning clustering

Question 5

The ________ is a nonhierarchical method that specifies several cluster centers at once.All objects within a pre-specified threshold value from the center are grouped together.

Accepted Answer

A) optimizing partitioning method 
B) sequential threshold method 
C) parallel threshold method 
D) Ward's procedure

Question 6

________ is a procedure that first assigns or determines a cluster center and then groups all objects within a pre-specified threshold value from the center.

Accepted Answer

A) Non-hierarchical clustering 
B) Ward's method 
C) Divisive clustering 
D) Agglomerative clustering

Question 7

Cluster analysis is the obverse of factor analysis in that it reduces the number of objects,not the number of variables,by grouping them into a much smaller number of clusters.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

________ methods are commonly used in marketing research.

Accepted Answer

A) TwoStep clustering 
B) Optimizing partitioning 
C) Divisive clustering 
D) Agglomerative clustering

Question 9

Which statement is not true about cluster analysis?

Accepted Answer

A) Cluster analysis is a technique for analyzing data when the criterion or dependent variable is categorical and the independent variables are interval in nature. 
B) Cluster analysis is also called classification analysis or numerical taxonomy. 
C) Groups or clusters are suggested by the data,not defined a priori. 
D) Objects in each cluster tend to be similar to each other and dissimilar to objects in the other clusters.

Question 10

The primary objective of cluster analysis is to classify objects into relatively homogeneous groups.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Which of the following is not a disadvantage of nonhierarchical clustering procedures?

Accepted Answer

A) The number of clusters must be pre-specified. 
B) The selection of cluster centers is arbitrary. 
C) The procedures do not work well when the clusters are poorly defined. 
D) All of the above are disadvantages.

Question 12

In non-hierarchical clustering,the F test is only descriptive.Because the cases or objects are systematically assigned to clusters to maximize differences on the clustering variables,the resulting probabilities should not be interpreted as testing the null hypothesis of no differences among clusters.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

To reduce the number of variables,a large set of variables can often be replaced by the set of cluster components.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Cluster analysis requires prior knowledge of the cluster or group membership for each object or case included to develop the classification rule.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Cluster analysis has been used in marketing for all of the purposes below except ________.

Accepted Answer

A) segmenting the market based on benefits sought from the purchase of a product 
B) identifying new product opportunities by clustering brands and products so that competitive sets within the market can be determined 
C) selecting test markets 
D) determining how strongly sales are related to advertising expenditures

Question 16

Clustering should be done on samples of at least 300 or more.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

________ involves examining the cluster centroids.

Accepted Answer

A) Interpreting and profiling the clusters 
B) Assessing reliability and validity 
C) Deciding on the number of clusters 
D) Selecting a clustering procedure

Question 18

Most clustering methods are relatively complex procedures that are supported by an extensive body of statistical reasoning.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

If you are performing cluster analysis on the same data using different distance measures and then comparing the results across measures to determine stability of the solutions,you are at which stage of the cluster analysis process?

Accepted Answer

A) interpreting and profiling the clusters 
B) assessing reliability and validity 
C) deciding on the number of clusters 
D) selecting a clustering procedure

Question 20

The TwoStep cluster analysis procedure can automatically determine the optimal number of clusters by comparing the values of a model-choice criteria across different clustering solutions.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 20: Cluster Analysis

Measuring similarity in terms of distance between pairs of objects is the most common approach used in cluster analysis for grouping similar objects together.

In SPSS,the main program for hierarchical clustering of objects or cases is ________.

Cluster analysis does not classify variables as dependent or independent.

________ is a clustering procedure characterized by the development of a tree-like structure.

The ________ is a nonhierarchical method that specifies several cluster centers at once.All objects within a pre-specified threshold value from the center are grouped together.

________ is a procedure that first assigns or determines a cluster center and then groups all objects within a pre-specified threshold value from the center.

Cluster analysis is the obverse of factor analysis in that it reduces the number of objects,not the number of variables,by grouping them into a much smaller number of clusters.

________ methods are commonly used in marketing research.

Which statement is not true about cluster analysis?

The primary objective of cluster analysis is to classify objects into relatively homogeneous groups.

Which of the following is not a disadvantage of nonhierarchical clustering procedures?

To reduce the number of variables,a large set of variables can often be replaced by the set of cluster components.

Cluster analysis requires prior knowledge of the cluster or group membership for each object or case included to develop the classification rule.

Cluster analysis has been used in marketing for all of the purposes below except ________.

Clustering should be done on samples of at least 300 or more.

________ involves examining the cluster centroids.

Most clustering methods are relatively complex procedures that are supported by an extensive body of statistical reasoning.

If you are performing cluster analysis on the same data using different distance measures and then comparing the results across measures to determine stability of the solutions,you are at which stage of the cluster analysis process?

The TwoStep cluster analysis procedure can automatically determine the optimal number of clusters by comparing the values of a model-choice criteria across different clustering solutions.