Using examples of data from the areas of information retrieval and of multivariate data analysis, six hierarchic clustering algorithms (single link, median, centroid, group average, complete link, Wards's) are examined and evaluated by using three proposed coefficients of hierarchic structure. Nine references are cited. (EJS)

Describes a computerized information retrieval system that uses three agglomerative hierarchic clustering algorithms--single link, complete link, and group average link--and explains their implementations. It is noted that these implementations have been used to cluster a collection of 12,000 documents. (LRW)

Considers classifications produced by application of single linkage, complete linkage, group average, and word clustering methods to Keen and Cranfield document test collections, and studies structure of hierarchies produced, extent to which methods distort input similarity matrices during classification generation, and retrieval effectiveness…