3. A very good repository of data that has been used to test the performance of many machine-learning algorithms is available at ics.uci.edu/~mlearn/

MLRepository.html. Some of the datasets are meant to test the limits of current machine-learning algorithms and to compare their performance with new approaches to learning. However, some of the smaller datasets can be useful for exploring the functionality of any data mining software or the software that is available as companion software with this book, such as Statistica Data Miner. Download at least one dataset from this repository (e.g., Credit Screening Databases, Housing Database) and apply decision tree or clustering methods, as appropriate. Prepare a report based on your results. (Some of these exercises may even be proposed as semester-long projects for term papers, for example.)