Book Image

Machine Learning with R - Fourth Edition

By : Brett Lantz
5 (1)
Book Image

Machine Learning with R - Fourth Edition

5 (1)
By: Brett Lantz

Overview of this book

Dive into R with this data science guide on machine learning (ML). Machine Learning with R, Fourth Edition, takes you through classification methods like nearest neighbor and Naive Bayes and regression modeling, from simple linear to logistic. Dive into practical deep learning with neural networks and support vector machines and unearth valuable insights from complex data sets with market basket analysis. Learn how to unlock hidden patterns within your data using k-means clustering. With three new chapters on data, you’ll hone your skills in advanced data preparation, mastering feature engineering, and tackling challenging data scenarios. This book helps you conquer high-dimensionality, sparsity, and imbalanced data with confidence. Navigate the complexities of big data with ease, harnessing the power of parallel computing and leveraging GPU resources for faster insights. Elevate your understanding of model performance evaluation, moving beyond accuracy metrics. With a new chapter on building better learners, you’ll pick up techniques that top teams use to improve model performance with ensemble methods and innovative model stacking and blending techniques. Machine Learning with R, Fourth Edition, equips you with the tools and knowledge to tackle even the most formidable data challenges. Unlock the full potential of machine learning and become a true master of the craft.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
16
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17
Index

Understanding decision trees

Decision tree learners are powerful classifiers that utilize a tree structure to model the relationships among the features and the potential outcomes. As illustrated in the following figure, this structure earned its name due to the fact that it mirrors the way a literal tree begins at a wide trunk and splits into narrower and narrower branches as it is followed upward. In much the same way, a decision tree classifier uses a structure of branching decisions that channel examples into a final predicted class value.

To better understand how this works in practice, let's consider the following tree, which predicts whether a job offer should be accepted. A job offer under consideration begins at the root node, where it is then passed through decision nodes that require choices to be made based on the attributes of the job. These choices split the data across branches that indicate potential outcomes of a decision. They are depicted here as yes or no outcomes...