Enhancing evolutionary instance selection algorithms by means of fuzzy rough set based feature selection

  • Authors:
  • Joaquín Derrac;Chris Cornelis;Salvador García;Francisco Herrera

  • Affiliations:
  • Dept. of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, CITIC-UGR, Research Center on Information and Communications Technology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain;Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium;Dept. of Computer Science, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain;Dept. of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, CITIC-UGR, Research Center on Information and Communications Technology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

  • Venue:
  • Information Sciences: an International Journal
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

In recent years, fuzzy rough set theory has emerged as a suitable tool for performing feature selection. Fuzzy rough feature selection enables us to analyze the discernibility of the attributes, highlighting the most attractive features in the construction of classifiers. However, its results can be enhanced even more if other data reduction techniques, such as instance selection, are considered. In this work, a hybrid evolutionary algorithm for data reduction, using both instance and feature selection, is presented. A global process of instance selection, carried out by a steady-state genetic algorithm, is combined with a fuzzy rough set based feature selection process, which searches for the most interesting features to enhance both the evolutionary search process and the final preprocessed data set. The experimental study, the results of which have been contrasted through nonparametric statistical tests, shows that our proposal obtains high reduction rates on training sets which greatly enhance the behavior of the nearest neighbor classifier.