Numero

Overview

In textbook examples, multivariable datasets are clustered into distinct subgroups that can be clearly identified by a set of optimal mathematical criteria. However, many real-world datasets arise from synergistic consequences of multiple effects, noisy and partly redundant measurements, and may represent a continuous spectrum of the different phases of a phenomenon. In medicine, complex diseases associated with ageing are typical examples. We postulate that population-based biomedical datasets (and many other real-world examples) do not contain an intrinsic clustered structure that would give rise to mathematically well-defined subgroups. From a modeling point of view, the lack of intrinsic structure means that the data points inhabit a contiguous cloud in high-dimensional space without abrupt changes in density to indicate subgroup boundaries, hence a mathematical criteria cannot segment the cloud reliably by its internal structure. Yet we need data-driven classification and subgrouping to aid decision-making and to facilitate the development of testable hypotheses. For this reason, we developed the Numero package, a more flexible and transparent process that allows human observers to create usable multivariable subgroups even when conventional clustering frameworks struggle.

Installation

# Install Numero from the CRAN repository:
install.packages("Numero")

Usage

The vignette of the package contains a practical real-life example of how to use the Numero R functions to define subgroups within a biomedical dataset.

library(Numero)
browseVignettes(package = "Numero")