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Comparing average, single & complete linkage

You are now ready to analyze the clustering results of the lineup dataset using the dendrogram plot. This will give you a new perspective on the effect the decision of the linkage method has on your resulting cluster analysis.

This exercise is part of the course

Cluster Analysis in R

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Exercise instructions

  • Perform the linkage calculation for hierarchical clustering using the linkages: complete, single, and average.
  • Plot the three dendrograms side by side and review the changes.

Hands-on interactive exercise

Have a go at this exercise by completing this sample code.

# Prepare the Distance Matrix
dist_players <- dist(lineup)

# Generate hclust for complete, single & average linkage methods
hc_complete <- ___
hc_single <- ___
hc_average <- ___

# Plot & Label the 3 Dendrograms Side-by-Side
# Hint: To see these Side-by-Side run the 4 lines together as one command
par(mfrow = c(1,3))
plot(___, main = 'Complete Linkage')
plot(___, main = 'Single Linkage')
plot(___, main = 'Average Linkage')
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