Decision Trees in Machine
Learning
Decision trees are a popular machine learning technique for making
predictions based on a series of decisions.
They break down complex problems into a series of simple yes/no
questions, creating a tree-like structure that leads to a final prediction.
by Harsh
How Decision Trees Work
1 Data Preparation
The input data is preprocessed and organized into features
and target variables.
2 Root Node Selection
An algorithm chooses the best feature to split the data at
the root node.
3 Recursive Splitting
The process of splitting the data based on features
continues until a stopping condition is met.
4 Leaf Nodes and Predictions
The final nodes, or leaves, represent the predicted
outcome for each branch of the tree.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Decision Trees
Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to interpret and understand, making them Prone to overfitting, especially when the tree is too deep.
transparent and explainable. Can be unstable, with small changes in data leading to
Can handle both numerical and categorical data, making significant changes in the tree structure.
them versatile. May not perform well with high-dimensional data or
Relatively less prone to overfitting compared to other datasets with complex relationships.
models when properly pruned.
Building and Evaluating Decision Tree Models
Data Preparation
1
Clean and organize the data, ensuring it's suitable for building a decision tree.
Model Training
2
Train the decision tree using a training dataset to learn patterns and relationships.
Model Pruning
3
Optimize the tree by removing unnecessary branches to prevent overfitting.
Model Evaluation
4 Assess the model's performance using metrics like
accuracy, precision, and recall.
