The use of error sum of squares to measure the loss of information that occurs when observations are clustered describes which method?
A) The centroid method
B) The complete linkage method
C) The average linkage method
D) Ward's method

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ward's method minimizes the within-cluster variance, which is equivalent to minimizing the error sum of squares. This method aims to choose the successive clustering steps in a way that the increase in the error sum of squares is minimized, effectively measuring the loss of information when observations are clustered.

The Use of Error Sum of Squares to Measure the Loss