Binary Classification via GMDH-Type Neural Network Algorithm

Abstract

Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) - type neural network algorithms are the self organizing algorithms for modeling complex systems. GMDH algorithms are used for different objectives; examples include regression, classification, clustering, forecasting, and so on. In this thesis, we propose a new algorithm named as diverse classifiers ensemble based on GMDH (dce-GMDH) algorithm for binary classification. Also, we develop an R package, GMDH2, to make our proposed algorithm available. The package offers two main algorithms, GMDH and dce-GMDH algorithms. GMDH algorithm performs binary classification and returns important variables. dce-GMDH algorithm performs binary classification by assembling classifiers based on GMDH algorithm. The package also provides a well-formatted table of descriptives in different format (R, LaTeX, HTML). Moreover, it produces confusion matrix and related statistics, and interactive scatter plot (2D and 3D) with classification labels of binary classes to assess the prediction performance. All properties of the package are demonstrated on Wisconsin Breast Cancer data. A Monte Carlo simulation study is also conducted to compare GMDH algorithms to the other well-known classifiers under the different conditions. Moreover, a user-friendly web-interface of the package is developed especially for non-R users. This web-interface is available at http://www.softmed.hacettepe.edu.tr/GMDH2.