title: A conversational program for hierarchic and non-hierarchic cluster analysis.
abstract: The theoretical basis and the features of some cluster analysis programs are described in this paper. These programs use as input data an N x M matrix. For the N' less than or equal to N set of individuals, the cross-correlation matrix, R = (rij), is then calculated. The dissimilarity matrix, D = (dhk), and the distribution histogram of the distances between each pair is worked out. Hierarchic and non-hierarchic clustering techniques are allowed. Using the non-hierarchic strategy, the non-overlapping clusters are then separated into different groups. The distances between these groups are calculated and statistical tests of significance are performed. In the hierarchic case, a dendrogram is drawn using an agglomerative algorithm. As an example the programs (written in FORTRAN, batch or TSS version) were used to classify human mitotic chromosomes.
mesh_terms: D002965:Classification; D003201:Computers; D008433:Mathematics; D008962:Models, Theoretical