Question 1

The ________ method is based on the maximum distance or the furthest neighbor approach.

Accepted Answer

A)  medium linkage 
B)  single linkage 
C)  complete linkage 
D)  average linkage

Question 2

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 procedures do not work well when the clusters are poorly defined. 
C)  The selection of cluster centers is arbitrary. 
D)  All of the above are disadvantages.

Question 3

________ is a class of techniques used to classify objects or cases into relatively homogeneous groups.

Accepted Answer

A)  Common factor analysis 
B)  Cluster analysis 
C)  Principal components analysis 
D)  Conjoint analysis

Question 4

What suggested guidelines researchers can use when deciding on the number of clusters?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What suggested guidelines researchers can use when...

Question 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

The ________ method uses information on all pairs of distances,not merely the minimum or maximum distances.

Accepted Answer

A)  single linkage 
B)  average linkage 
C)  complete linkage 
D)  medium linkage

Question 9

Which statement is not true concerning the clustering solution if the variables are measured in vastly different units?

Accepted Answer

A)  We must standardize the data by rescaling each variable to have a mean of zero and standard deviation of unity. 
B)  Standardization can reduce the differences between groups on variables that may best discriminate groups or clusters. 
C)  It is desirable to eliminate outliers. 
D)  The clustering solution will not be influenced by the units of measurement.

Question 10

A(n)________ or tree graph is a graphical device for displaying clustering results.Vertical lines represent clusters that are joined together.The position of the line on the scale indicates the distances at which clusters were joined.

Accepted Answer

A)  scattergram 
B)  scree plot 
C)  icicle diagram 
D)  dendrogram

Question 11

The ________ method is based on minimum distance or the nearest neighbor rule.

Accepted Answer

A)  medium linkage 
B)  complete linkage 
C)  average linkage 
D)  single linkage

Question 12

Cluster analysis does not classify variables as dependent or independent.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

The centroids represent the mean values of the objects contained in the cluster on each of the variables.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

________ is a variance method in which the squared euclidean distance to the cluster means is minimized.

Accepted Answer

A)  Optimizing partitioning method 
B)  Parallel threshold method 
C)  Ward's procedure 
D)  Sequential threshold method

Question 15

________ is a clustering procedure where each object starts out in a separate cluster.

Accepted Answer

A)  Non-hierarchical clustering 
B)  Divisive clustering 
C)  Agglomerative clustering 
D)  Hierarchical clustering

Question 16

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

Question 17

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

Question 18

The ________ is a nonhierarchical method that allows for later reassignment of objects to clusters to optimize an overall criterion.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 19

Which cluster analysis procedure can automatically determine the optimal number of clusters by comparing the values of a model-choice across different clustering solutions?

Accepted Answer

A)  Ward's method 
B)  divisive 
C)  TwoStep 
D)  sequential threshold

Question 20

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

Exam 20: Cluster Analysis

The ________ method is based on the maximum distance or the furthest neighbor approach.

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

________ is a class of techniques used to classify objects or cases into relatively homogeneous groups.

What suggested guidelines researchers can use when deciding on the number of clusters?

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.

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

The ________ method uses information on all pairs of distances,not merely the minimum or maximum distances.

Which statement is not true concerning the clustering solution if the variables are measured in vastly different units?

A(n) ________ or tree graph is a graphical device for displaying clustering results.Vertical lines represent clusters that are joined together.The position of the line on the scale indicates the distances at which clusters were joined.

The ________ method is based on minimum distance or the nearest neighbor rule.

Cluster analysis does not classify variables as dependent or independent.

The centroids represent the mean values of the objects contained in the cluster on each of the variables.

________ is a variance method in which the squared euclidean distance to the cluster means is minimized.

________ is a clustering procedure where each object starts out in a separate cluster.

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.

The ________ is a nonhierarchical method that allows for later reassignment of objects to clusters to optimize an overall criterion.

Which cluster analysis procedure can automatically determine the optimal number of clusters by comparing the values of a model-choice across different clustering solutions?

________ 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.