Exploring User Feedback Data via a Hybrid Fuzzy Clustering Model Combining Variations of FCM and Density-Based Clustering

Abstract

In today’s dynamic environments, user feedback data are a valuable asset providing orientations about the achieved quality and possible improvements of various products or services. In this paper we will present a hybrid fuzzy clustering model combining variants of fuzzy c-means clustering and density based clustering for exploring well-structured user feedback data. Despite of the multitude of successful applications where these algorithms are applied separately, they also suffer drawbacks of various kinds. So, the FCM algorithm faces difficulties in detecting clusters of non-spherical shapes or densities and moreover it is sensitive to noise and outliers. On the other hand density-based clustering is not easily adaptable to generate fuzzy partitions. Our hybrid clustering model intertwines density-based clustering and variations of FCM intending to exploit the advantages of these two types of clustering approaches and diminishing their drawbacks. Finally we have assessed and compared our model in a real-world case study.