Understanding Decision Tree in Machine Learning: A Beginner’s Guide
Machine Learning (ML) as a field is making rapid strides towards dominance in an increasing number of industries. In particular, Decision Trees have become a popular tool in the kit of the modern-day data scientist. They are used to solve problems of classification and regression, among others.
Let’s take a closer look at Decision Trees in Machine Learning and explore their structure, application, and advantages.
What is a Decision Tree in Machine Learning?
A Decision Tree is a decision-making tool that uses a tree-like graph or model of decisions and their possible consequences, including chance event outcomes, resource costs, and utility. It is a flowchart-like structure that is used to classify objects or decisions. It is an approach to problem-solving that visualizes decision actions and their outcomes in a way that makes even complex issues easy to understand.
Decision Trees involve both categorical and numerical data. They use an algorithm that is driven by statistical probabilities and mathematical inequalities. The algorithm typically begins by selecting the most significant feature of the data-set and forms a node. It then splits the data based on the feature into subsets that maximize the difference in some aspect of the data to discriminate the subsets. The algorithm repeats this process until it produces a tree that best describes the data or produces the desired outcome.
How are Decision Trees used?
Decision Trees are used to solve many Machine Learning problems. They are particularly effective in classification problems where the objective is to assign each object to one of several predefined categories.
Decision Trees can also be used for regression analysis. A Decision Tree can be used to predict values based on the available data and can also be used to infer missing values in the data set.
Moreover, since Decision Trees are easy to use and interpret, they are often used in the initial stages of the modeling process to provide insights into the data by data scientists and business analysts. They can also be used to assess the relevance of the predictors and therefore help to narrow down the focus of the problem being solved.
Advantages of Decision Trees in Machine Learning
Decision Trees have several advantages over other methods of Machine Learning. They are:
1. Easy to Understand: Decision Trees are easy to interpret and explain. They provide clear visualizations of decision-making processes, which makes them understandable even to non-technical users.
2. Handle Both Categorical and Numerical Data: Decision Trees can handle both continuous and categorical data and have the ability to perform feature selection, which allows for a better understanding of the data.
3. Highly Accurate: Decision Trees have a high accuracy rate and can produce reliable results even when dealing with large data sets.
4. Time-Efficient: Decision Trees can be trained quickly compared to other models and can be easily updated as new data becomes available.
Conclusion
Decision Trees are a powerful tool in Machine Learning that transforms complex problems into clear and understandable insights. They are easy to use, interpret, and provide accurate results. The intuitive nature of Decision Trees makes it easy for non-technical users to understand, which can help in the decision-making process. With numerous advantages, Decision Trees should be a tool in the arsenal of analysts and data scientists dealing with classification and regression problems.
