Biclustering Readings and Manuscripts via Non-negative Matrix Factorization, with Application to the Text of Jude
The text-critical practice of grouping witnesses into families or texttypes often faces two obstacles: the methodological question of how exactly to isolate the groups, given the chicken-and-egg relationship between "good" group readings and "good" group manuscripts, and contamin...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Andrews Univ. Press
[2019]
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| In: |
Andrews University Seminary studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 57, Issue: 1, Pages: 61-89 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The text-critical practice of grouping witnesses into families or texttypes often faces two obstacles: the methodological question of how exactly to isolate the groups, given the chicken-and-egg relationship between "good" group readings and "good" group manuscripts, and contamination in the manuscript tradition. I introduce non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) as a simple, automated, and efficient solution to both problems. Within minutes, NMF can cluster hundreds of manuscripts and readings simultaneously, producing an output that details potential contamination according to an easy-to-interpret mixture model. I apply this method to Wasserman’s extensive collation of the Epistle of Jude, showing that the resulting clusters correspond to human-identified textual families and their characteristic readings ccorrectly divide witnesses into their groups. Due to its demonstrated accuracy, versatility, and speed, NMF could replace prior state-of-the-art classification methods and find fruitful application in a number of text-critical settings. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Andrews University. Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University Seminary studies
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