Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques, 3rd Edition

3.5 Data Transformation and Data Discretization

This section presents methods of data transformation. In this preprocessing step, the data are transformed or consolidated so that the resulting mining process may be more efficient, and the patterns found may be easier to understand. Data discretization, a form of data transformation, is also discussed.

3.5.1 Data Transformation Strategies Overview

In data transformation, the data are transformed or consolidated into forms appropriate for mining. Strategies for data transformation include the following:

1. Smoothing, which works to remove noise from the data. Techniques include binning, regression, and clustering.

2. Attribute construction (or feature construction), where new attributes are constructed ...