Hierarchical clustering via penalty-based aggregation and the Genie approach

Abstract

The paper discusses a generalization of the nearest centroid hierarchical clustering algorithm. A first extension deals with the incorporation of generic distance-based penalty minimizers instead of the classical aggregation by means of centroids. Due to that the presented algorithm can be applied in spaces equipped with an arbitrary dissimilarity measure (images, DNA sequences, etc.). Secondly, a correction preventing the formation of clusters of too highly unbalanced sizes is applied: just like in the recently introduced Genie approach, which extends the single linkage scheme, the new method averts a chosen inequity measure (e.g., the Gini-, de Vergottini-, or Bonferroni-index) of cluster sizes from raising above a predefined threshold. Numerous benchmarks indicate that the introduction of such a correction increases the quality of the resulting clusterings significantly.