Clustering Sets of Objects Using Concepts-Objects Bipartite Graphs

International audienceIn this paper we deal with data stated under the form of abinary relation between objects and properties. We propose an approachfor clustering the objects and labeling them with characteristic subsetsof properties. The approach is based on a parallel between formal con-cept analysis and graph clustering. The problem is made tricky due tothe fact that generally there is no partitioning of the objects that can beassociated with a partitioning of properties. Indeed a relevant partitionof objects may exist, whereas it is not the case for properties. In order toobtain a conceptual clustering of the objects, we work with a bipartitegraph relating objects with formal concepts. Experiments on artificialbenchmarks and real examples show the effectiveness of the method,more particularly the fact that the results remain stable when an in-creasing number of properties are shared between objects of differentclusters

Cluster-based network proximities for arbitrary nodal subsets

The concept of a cluster or community in a network context has been of considerable interest in a variety of settings in recent years. In this paper, employing random walks and geodesic distance, we introduce a unified measure of cluster-based proximity between nodes, relative to a given subset of interest. The inherent simplicity and informativeness of the approach could make it of value to researchers in a variety of scientific fields. Applicability is demonstrated via application to clustering for a number of existent data sets (including multipartite networks). We view community detection (i.e. when the full set of network nodes is considered) as simply the limiting instance of clustering (for arbitrary subsets). This perspective should add to the dialogue on what constitutes a cluster or community within a network. In regards to health-relevant attributes in social networks, identification of clusters of individuals with similar attributes can support targeting of collective interventions. The method performs well in comparisons with other approaches, based on comparative measures such as NMI and ARI

Métrologie des graphes de terrain, application à la construction de ressources lexicales et à la recherche d'information

This thesis is organized in two parts : the first part focuses on measures of similarity (or proximity) between vertices of a graph, the second part on clustering methods for bipartite graph. A new measure of similarity between vertices, based on short time random walks, is introduced. The main advantage of the method is that it is insensitive to the density of the graph. A broad state of the art of similarities between vertices is then proposed, as well as experimental comparisons of these measures. This is followed by the proposal of a robust method for comparing graphs sharing the same set of vertices. This measure is shown to be applicable to the comparison and merging of synonymy networks. Finally an application for the enrichment of lexical resources is presented. It consists in providing candidate synonyms on the basis of already existing links. In the second part, a parallel between formal concept analysis and clustering of bipartite graph is established. This parallel leads to the particular case where a partition of one of the vertex groups can be determined whereas there is no corresponding partition on the other group of vertices. A simple method that addresses this problem is proposed and evaluated. Finally, a system of automatic classification of search results (Kodex) is presented. This system is an application of previously seen clustering methods. An evaluation on a collection of two million web pages shows the benefits of the approach and also helps to understand some differences between clustering methods.Cette thèse s'organise en deux parties : une première partie s'intéresse aux mesures de similarité (ou de proximité) définies entre les sommets d'un graphe, une seconde aux méthodes de clustering de graphe biparti. Une nouvelle mesure de similarité entre sommets basée sur des marches aléatoires en temps courts est introduite. Cette méthode a l'avantage, en particulier, d'être insensible à la densité du graphe. Il est ensuite proposé un large état de l'art des similarités entre sommets, ainsi qu'une comparaison expérimentale de ces différentes mesures. Cette première partie se poursuit par la proposition d'une méthode robuste de comparaison de graphes partageant le même ensemble de sommets. Cette méthode est mise en application pour comparer et fusionner des graphes de synonymie. Enfin une application d'aide à la construction de ressources lexicales est présentée. Elle consiste à proposer de nouvelles relations de synonymie à partir de l'ensemble des relations de synonymie déjà existantes. Dans une seconde partie, un parallèle entre l'analyse formelle de concepts et le clustering de graphe biparti est établi. Ce parallèle conduit à l'étude d'un cas particulier pour lequel une partition d'un des groupes de sommets d'un graphe biparti peut-être déterminée alors qu'il n'existe pas de partitionnement correspondant sur l'autre type de sommets. Une méthode simple qui répond à ce problème est proposée et évaluée. Enfin Kodex, un système de classification automatique des résultats d'une recherche d'information est présenté. Ce système est une application en RI des méthodes de clustering vues précédemment. Une évaluation sur une collection de deux millions de pages web montre les avantages de l'approche et permet en outre de mieux comprendre certaines différences entre méthodes de clustering