What Does Silhouette Score Mean?

Silhouette score measures how well-defined the separation is between clusters. It is an important metric used to measure the performance of a clustering algorithm and can be used to compare different algorithms. The Silhouette score ranges from -1 to 1, where 1 indicates a very good clustering and -1 indicates a poor clustering.

The Silhouette score is calculated by computing the average Silhouette coefficient for every observation. This coefficient is calculated by measuring the distance between an observation and all other observations in its own cluster (the ‘Intra-cluster’ distance) and then dividing it by the distance between that observation and all observations in the closest neighboring cluster (the ‘Inter-cluster’ distance).

The Silhouette coefficient for an individual observation is then calculated by subtracting the intra-cluster distance from the inter-cluster distance, divided by the maximum of these two distances.

The overall Silhouette score is then calculated by taking the mean of all individual coefficients for every observation. A higher Silhouette score means that there is a better defined separation between clusters, while a lower Silhouette score means that there is not as clear of a separation between clusters.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Silhouette score measures how well defined the separation is between clusters and can be used to compare different algorithms. The higher Silhouette score indicates better clustering as it shows more distinct separation between clusters.