Post-hoc cluster analysis of connection between the forming characteristics

Abstract

In this paper, one of the variants of so-called post-hoc cluster analysis problem is considered: the characteristics by which the clusters were constructed are ranked according to the degree of their influence on the final cluster partition. Wherein, using the pairwise coefficients proposed in the paper, we estimate the possibility of replacing a pair of characteristics by one of them (the degree of dominance of one characteristic over another), and the strength of the kind of mutual influence of the characteristics that is associated with the existing cluster structure. The latter influence we call a cluster connection. The most meaningful results were obtained, assuming that the addition or elimination of any forming characteristic leads to the grinding or consolidation of clusters, which is true for the algorithms of hierarchical classification.