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K-Nearest Neighbors

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Srishti Pandey
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24 views2 pages

K-Nearest Neighbors

Mlt notes

Uploaded by

Srishti Pandey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) algorithm is a simple yet powerful classification and regression

technique widely used in machine learning. Here’s an in-depth look at how it works, its
components, advantages, limitations, and some best practices.

1. Overview of k-NN
Definition: k-NN is a non-parametric, instance-based learning algorithm that classifies or predicts
the value of a data point based on the ‘k’ nearest data points in the feature space.

Key Concepts:
Distance Metrics: The algorithm relies on distance measures to find the nearest neighbors.
Common distance metrics include:
Euclidean Distance: d = ∑(xi − yi )2
​ ​ ​

Manhattan Distance: d = ∑ ∣xi − yi ∣


​ ​

Minkowski Distance: Generalization of both Euclidean and Manhattan.


Hamming Distance: Used for categorical variables.
Value of k: The parameter ‘k’ determines how many neighbors to consider. Choosing the right
k is crucial, as a small k can lead to noise affecting the results, while a large k might smooth out
important distinctions.

2. Algorithm Steps
1. Choose the number of neighbors (k): Select a suitable value for k based on the dataset and
problem type.
2. Calculate the distance: For a new data point, compute the distance between the point and all
other points in the dataset using the chosen distance metric.
3. Identify nearest neighbors: Sort the calculated distances and select the top k nearest
neighbors.
4. Voting for classification or averaging for regression:
Classification: Each neighbor votes for its class, and the most common class among the k
neighbors is assigned to the new data point.
Regression: The average (or weighted average) of the k neighbors’ values is computed for
the prediction.

3. Advantages of k-NN
Simplicity: Easy to implement and understand, with minimal assumptions about the underlying
data distribution.
Versatility: Can be used for both classification and regression problems.
No training phase: It’s an instance-based learner, meaning it stores the training dataset and
makes predictions without a separate training phase.

4. Limitations of k-NN
Computationally Intensive: As the dataset grows, the algorithm becomes slower since it
requires calculating distances for each instance.
Curse of Dimensionality: Performance may degrade in high-dimensional spaces due to
sparsity, making it difficult to find nearest neighbors.
Sensitivity to Outliers: Outliers can disproportionately influence the outcome, especially with
small k values.
Feature Scaling Required: The algorithm is sensitive to the scale of the features. Features
should be standardized or normalized to ensure fair distance calculations.

5. Best Practices
Choose an Optimal k: Use techniques like cross-validation to find the best k. A common
approach is to try various k values and choose the one with the best performance metrics (e.g.,
accuracy, F1 score).
Feature Selection: Reduce dimensionality and remove irrelevant features to improve
performance. Techniques like PCA (Principal Component Analysis) can be beneficial.
Data Preprocessing: Normalize or standardize the data to ensure all features contribute
equally to distance calculations.
Distance Weighting: Implement weighted voting where closer neighbors have a higher
influence on the classification, which can mitigate the impact of noisy points.
Using Efficient Data Structures: For large datasets, consider using data structures like KD-trees
or Ball trees to speed up the neighbor search.

6. Applications of k-NN
Image Recognition: Classifying images based on pixel values.
Recommender Systems: Suggesting products based on user similarities.
Medical Diagnosis: Classifying diseases based on patient data.
Text Classification: Categorizing documents based on word frequency.

Conclusion
The k-NN algorithm is a fundamental method in machine learning, providing intuitive results and
insights into data classification and regression tasks. Despite its limitations, its simplicity and
effectiveness make it a popular choice, especially in scenarios with well-defined features and
smaller datasets. By following best practices and carefully tuning parameters, k-NN can be a
powerful tool in a data scientist's toolkit.

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