Analyze Data
Cluster Analysis Example
Cluster analysis is used to group respondents according to their responses rather than pre-determined categories such as their age or income. This makes it particularly useful for things such as segmentation.
Using cluster analysis, people may be grouped based on the similarity in their purchase behavior, attitudes toward products, services, or organizations, or any other variables of interest. These groupings are usually done based on responses to a number of questions rather than just on one single thing. For example, cluster analysis could be used to group people based on their responses to the sample questions shown in the factor analysis example or based on factor scores generated from a factor analysis of these questions. The result would be groups whose members are more similar to one another than they are to members of other groups. Using this example, one group might comprise travellers who are very conscientious about planning their vacations, want to squeeze in as much as possible, and want to go places where they will be likely to be able to learn new things whereas another group might comprise people who primarily want to relax and be left alone when they go on vacation.
Other forms of analysis, such as chi-square and ANOVA can then be used to identify demographic and psychographic differences between groups. For example, members of the group that plans extensively before trips may be more likely to be retired whereas members of the other group may be more likely to be middle-aged professionals.