1.

Major Issues in Data Mining

Mining Methodology:
Example: One major issue is selecting the appropriate data mining algorithm for a given task. For instance, in
healthcare, choosing between decision trees and neural networks for predicting patient outcomes requires
understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm.

User Interaction:
Example: User involvement in the data mining process is crucial. An issue arises when users are not able to
effectively interpret or validate the results. For instance, a marketing analyst may struggle to understand
complex patterns discovered in customer data, hindering the usefulness of the insights.

Performance:
Example: Scalability is a common performance issue. When dealing with massive datasets, traditional
algorithms may become inefficient. For example, if a retail company aims to analyze customer purchase
history across millions of transactions, the chosen data mining method must handle the scale efficiently.

Diverse Data Types:

Example: Dealing with heterogeneous data types, such as text, images, and numerical data in social media
analysis, poses challenges. Integrating these diverse data types into a coherent mining process requires
advanced techniques to extract meaningful patterns.

2. Data Mining Functionalities:

Characterization:
Example: Characterization involves summarizing the general features of a target dataset. In retail, this could
mean analyzing sales data to identify key product categories, best-selling items, and customer demographics.
The goal is to provide an overview and better understand the data.

Discrimination:
Example: Discrimination aims to distinguish between different classes or groups. In credit scoring, data mining
can be used to discriminate between customers with good and bad credit histories. The model identifies
factors that differentiate creditworthy and high-risk individuals.

Association and Correlation Analysis:

Example: Association analysis identifies relationships between variables. In e-commerce, it can reveal
associations between products frequently purchased together. For instance, if customers buying smartphones
often purchase screen protectors, the retailer can use this information for targeted recommendations or
bundling.

Classification and Prediction:

Example: Classification involves assigning predefined labels to instances. In email filtering, a classification
model can be trained to categorize emails as spam or non-spam based on features like keywords and sender
information. Prediction, on the other hand, anticipates numeric values, such as predicting stock prices based
on historical data and market indicators.

Clustering:
Example: Clustering groups similar instances together. In customer segmentation, clustering can identify
groups of customers with similar purchasing behavior. For instance, an online streaming service may use
clustering to group subscribers based on their viewing preferences for targeted content recommendations.
These functionalities encompass a broad spectrum of data mining tasks, enabling organizations to gain
valuable insights and make informed decisions based on patterns and relationships within their data.