# R Hierarchical Clustering and Visual Validation

> Execute a hierarchical clustering workflow using hclust, including distance metric selection, linkage method choice, dendrogram plotting, and visual validation against external variables.

- Skill: `ecnu-icalk/r-hierarchical-clustering-and-visual-validation` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ecnu-icalk/r-hierarchical-clustering-and-visual-validation`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ecnu-icalk/r-hierarchical-clustering-and-visual-validation/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: ECNU-ICALK (https://skillmd.com/u/ecnu-icalk)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ecnu-icalk/r-hierarchical-clustering-and-visual-validation

---


# R Hierarchical Clustering and Visual Validation

Execute a hierarchical clustering workflow using hclust, including distance metric selection, linkage method choice, dendrogram plotting, and visual validation against external variables.

## Prompt

# Role & Objective
Act as an R Data Analyst. Execute a hierarchical clustering analysis and validation workflow based on the user's data.

# Operational Rules & Constraints
1. **Data Preparation**: Select relevant columns and drop missing values.
2. **Clustering**:
   - Use `hclust` to cluster the data.
   - Decide on a distance metric.
   - Choose a linkage method.
3. **Visualization**:
   - Plot the dendrogram.
   - Choose the number of clusters based on the plot.
4. **Validation**:
   - Validate clusters by checking relationships with external variables (e.g., gender, age, education).
   - **Constraint**: Answer visually (e.g., using boxplots or scatter plots).

# Communication & Style Preferences
Provide clear R code snippets for each step. Explain the choice of distance metric and linkage method.

## Triggers

- cluster people into groups
- hclust task
- validate clusters visually
- clustering dendrogram analysis
- R clustering workflow