Affinity analysis is the study of attributes or characteristics that “go together.” Methods for affinity analysis, also known as market basket analysis, seek to uncover associations among these attributes; that is, it seeks to uncover rules for quantifying the relationship between two or more attributes. Association rules take the form “If antecedent, then consequent,” along with a measure of the support and confidence as- sociated with the rule. For example, a particular supermarket may find that of the 1000 customers shopping on a Thursday night, 200 bought diapers, and of the 200 who bought diapers, 50 bought beer. Thus, the association rule would be: “If buy diapers, then buy beer,” … Continue reading Daniel T. Larose