Clustering with qualitative information

We consider the problem of clustering a collection of elements based on pairwise judgments of similarity and dissimilarity. Bansal, Blum and Chawla [1] cast the problem thus: given a graph G whose edges are labeled "+" (similar) or "-" (dissimilar), partition the vertices into clusters so that the number of pairs correctly (resp. incorrectly) classified with respect to the input labeling is maximized (resp. minimized). Complete graphs, where the classifier labels every edge, and general graphs, where some edges are not labeled, are both worth studying. We answer several questions left open in [1] and provide a sound overview of clustering with qualitative information. We give a factor 4 approximation for minimization on complete graphs, and a factor 0(log n) approximation for general graphs. For the maximization version, a PTAS for complete graphs is shown in [1]; we give a factor 0.7664 approximation for general graphs, noting that a PTAS is unlikely by proving APX-hardness. We also prove the APX-hardness of minimization on complete graphs.