Standardisation of Data Set Under Different Measurement Scales

Marek Walesiak

Standardisation of multivariate observations is the important stage that precedes the determination of distances (dissimilarities) in clustering and multidimensional scaling. Different studies (e.g. Milligan and Cooper (1988)) show the effect of standardisation on the retaining of cluster structure in various data configurations. In the paper the survey of standardisation formulas is given. Then we consider the problem of different scales of measurement and their impact on: – the selection of the standardisation formula; – the selections of the appropriate dissimilarity (or similarity) measure.