The "k"-means clustering method, while widely embraced in college student typology research, is often misunderstood and misapplied. Many researchers regard "k"-means as a near-universal solution for uncovering homogeneous student groups, believing its success hinges primarily on the selection of an appropriate "k."…

Clustering techniques seek to group together objects or variables that share some observed qualities or, alternatively, to partition a set of objects or variables into mutually exclusive classes whose boundaries reflect differences in the observed qualities of their members. This paper reviews the general principles underlying clustering…