Extending clusters

Analyst's Notebook can extend selections to include entities that are connected to a cluster but that are not bound tightly enough to form part of the cluster itself.

About this task

If you add a binding strength attribute when you find clusters, you can then extend the cluster selection to include any neighboring entities that have a lower binding strength. For example, the chart in the following diagram has a central cluster with a binding strength of three. As part of your analysis, you might decide to select any linked entities that have a binding strength of two and then analyze the final selection further.

A chart showing a central cluster which has a binding strength of three and several entities linked to that cluster, three of which have a binding strength of two. Only two of these three are linked to the cluster with links that have a binding strength of two.

Procedure

To extend the clusters selection to include more entities and links:
  1. With the clusters selected, in the Find Networks group, click Find Linked Items.
  2. From the Include Entities with Attribute list, select the binding strength attribute that you assigned when you searched for clusters, select a condition, and then enter any values.
    For example, in the chart that is shown, a single cluster is found, which has a binding strength of three. You might want to select entities that are linked to it that have a binding strength of two by links that have a binding strength of two. Select the condition equal to and enter a binding strength value of 2, then repeat the step for the Include Links with Attribute list.
  3. Click OK.
    In the example chart, two entities and two links are added to the selection.