Chapter
5
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5
Building Streams
Stream-Building Overview
Data mining using IBM® SPSS® Modeler focuses on the process of running data through a series
of nodes, referred to as a stream. This se r ies of nodes represents operations to be performed on
the data, w hile links between the nodes indicate the d irection of data flow. Typically, you use a
data stream to read data into SPSS Modeler, run it through a s eries of manipulations, and then
send it to a destination, such as a table or a viewer.
For example, suppose that you want to open a data source, add a new field, select records
based on values in the new field, and then display the results in a table. In this case, your data
stream would consist of four nodes:
A Variable File node, which you set up to read the data from the data source.
A Derive node, which you use to add the new, calculated field to the data set.
A Select node, which you use to set up selection criteria to exclude records from the
data stream.
A Table node, which you use to display the results of your manipulations onscreen.
Building Data Streams
IBM® SPSS® Modeler’s unique interface lets you mine your data visually by working with
diagram
s of data streams. At the most basic level, you can build a data stream using the following
steps:
Add nodes to the stream canv as.
Connect the nodes to form a stream.
Speci f y any node or stream options .
Run the stream.
© Copyright IBM Corporation 1994, 2012.
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