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
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')