Clustering for Microanalytical Data

Clustering is a chemometrical technique, used for the grouping or classification of objects characterized by multivariate analytical data. The hierarchical and non-hierarchical algorithms are discussed. Among the hierarchical methods the average linkageand Ward’s method are preferred, while the preferred non-hierarchical method is MASLOC. The latter is the only method with a build-in rule for the selection of significant clusters. The importance of combining clustering with other multivariate techniques, such as factor analysis, is stressed.