Consensus Clustering

**Semantic type:** Research Activity

**Definition:** A method to represent the consensus across multiple runs of a clustering algorithm, to determine the number of clusters in the data, and to assess the stability of the discovered clusters. The method can also be used to represent the consensus over multiple runs of a clustering algorithm with random restart (such as K-means, model-based Bayesian clustering, SOM, etc.), so as to account for its sensitivity to the initial conditions. It also provides for a visualization tool to inspect cluster number, membership, and boundaries.

**Synonyms:** - Consensus Clustering Analysis