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I am currently trying to find out what algorithm IBM SPSS Modeler is using during calculation of decision lists. However, on the help page I can only find options for using the decision-list function but no information on how this model is trained. I also found some papers about decision lists, but these mention multiple different training methods. Is there any further information about the actual algorithms used by SPSS Modeler or are these completely kept as a secret?

NOTE:

I am not just interested in any algorithm for decision lists. Rather, we are currently basing our work on a decision list provided to used based on SPSS Modeler and we would like to start of using the same exact methodology as a starting point. For this it would be crucial to use the same algorithm that is implemented in SPSS Modeler.

Scortchi - Reinstate Monica
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LiKao
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1 Answers1

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You need the "Algorithms Guide" pdf file from the SPSS Modeler documentation. For Modeler 18.0, the decision list algorithm is on p.106.

The .pdf can be freely downloaded from IBM's website. Just google the documentation for your version of SPSS Modeler.

Borislav Aymaliev
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    This is being automatically flagged as low quality, probably because it is so short. At present it is more of a comment than an answer by our standards. Can you expand on it? We can also turn it into a comment. – gung - Reinstate Monica Feb 02 '17 at 12:19
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    This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient [reputation](http://stats.stackexchange.com/help/whats-reputation) you will be able to [comment on any post](http://stats.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/comment); instead, [provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/214173/why-do-i-need-50-reputation-to-comment-what-can-i-do-instead). - [From Review](/review/low-quality-posts/132930) – mdewey Feb 02 '17 at 14:14
  • I believe to have provided the straightforward answers to both questions - about the location of the information about SPSS Modeler algorithms and about the decision lists algorithm. Moreover, the post does not require clarification from the asker. – Borislav Aymaliev Feb 02 '17 at 14:35
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    @mdewey I believe it does provide an answer. This question contains everything need to find the information to implement the algorithm myself. The spss documentation, that Borsislav points to gives a detailed description of the algorithm. The only better explanation would be to give some papers of where this algorithm comes from (not in the documentation), or include the actual algorithm. However, taking an algorithm from an IBM documentation may cause copyright issues. – LiKao Feb 10 '17 at 07:53
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    @LiKao: Is it worth preserving for posterity the information that an algorithm used by some software is described in the documentation for that software? We try to encourage answers that are going to be useful to others besides the one who asked the question. – Scortchi - Reinstate Monica Feb 10 '17 at 09:49
  • @Scortchi I agree, that the answer could provide more (e.g. a rundown of algorithm itself). Still even without that, I find the answer worthy for posterity, because the existence of this "algorithm guide" was not known for me (although I did google searches etc) nor to the people who trained the model (I asked about the algorithm, and they were not able to point me to that document). The document is not linked in the main user documentation anywhere, and therefore may be hard to find. – LiKao Feb 10 '17 at 09:57
  • @Scortchi Since I am currently not sure about the copyright situation, I am worried about adding the description of the algorithm myself. If I can get that cleared up, I will most likely provide an edit or add an additional answer to include it and increase the value. – LiKao Feb 10 '17 at 09:58
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    LiKao: Thanks! Of course I won't presume to give you legal advice; but I look forward to your post. – Scortchi - Reinstate Monica Feb 10 '17 at 10:35
  • @Scortchi, in this case it is useful (funny as it may sound) to have the information that all algorithms, used by the spss modeler software can be found in the so-called "Algorithms Guide" from the numerous pdf files of its documentation. I had the very same problem a few months ago - google does not return relevant results when one wants to find the actual algorithm. All you get are guides on how to use nodes. And finding the answer, in my case, took a few days of asking around. Moreover, the specific algorithm, should anybody copy-paste it, would provide a less relevant answer. – Borislav Aymaliev Feb 13 '17 at 10:07
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    @BorislavAymaliev: When I put "What algorithm does SPSS Modeler use for decision-lists" into Google I get "IBM SPSS Modeler 17 Algorithms Guide" as the fifth result. And though there *are* [a lot of manuals](http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27046871#en) for this software, *Algorithms Guide* is surely the strongest candidate for containing information on what algorithms it uses. Anyway, I've added the `references` tag to the question, making this answer more appropriate. – Scortchi - Reinstate Monica Feb 13 '17 at 10:19
  • @Scortchi, should you remove the coinciding "algorithm" keyword from your search, or ever actually use SPSS modeler, then you may be able to understand the question. – Borislav Aymaliev Feb 13 '17 at 22:43