Date:         Wed, 25 Feb 1998 08:00:00 PST
Reply-To:     user spss <user_spss@BANDMASTER.PORTAL.CA>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         user spss <user_spss@BANDMASTER.PORTAL.CA>
Organization: Another WaterGate site !
Subject:      Re: HELP: Cluster Analysis in SPSS

Mauri Ziff wrote:
>
>  e-mail me at:  mauri_ziff@quickmail.ucsf.edu
>
>                       Subject:  Time:4:50 PM
>         OFFICE MEMO          cluster analysis
> Date:2/19/98
>
> I am interested in doing a cluster analyses (CA) using SPSS for a
> study on older adults and behavior.  It is unclear to me whether it is
> possible to do a CA  if the data include different types [i.e., the
> behavior variables are binary (dichotomous), continuous, and ordinal,
> and I want to use them in the same analysis].  And, if it is possible,
> which distance/proximity measure would be the most appropriate to use?
>
> Thank you.
> M. Ziff
 
 
SPSS's two cluster procedures, CLUSTER and QUICK CLUSTER, require all
variables to be treated as interval-level. However, true dichotomies
(coded as 0 or 1 for the presence or absence of an attribute) can be
regarded as interval, and most ordinal scales can also be treated in the
same manner with little risk of significant error. Of course, it all
depends on the nature of your variables.
 
CLUSTER, useful for relatively small datasets, admits a number of
distance measures. QUICK CLUSTER uses only Euclidean distance. In both
cases, variables are standardized with zero mean and unit variance.
 
Hector Maletta
Universidad del Salvador
Buenos Aires, Argentina
 
Hector Male
 
 
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