Solved – Imbalanced dataset binary classification

binary dataclassificationmachine learningunbalanced-classes

I am new in ML & DS and i have a dataset with an imbalance of 9:1 for Binary Classification,as an assignment. Could you please guide me in this regard? Also Which classifier is best for Imbalanced Binary Classification?

Regrds.

Best Answer

You got off on the wrong foot by conceptualizing this as a classification problem. The fact that $Y$ is binary has nothing to do with trying to make classifications. And when the balance of $Y$ is far from 1:1 you need to think about modeling tendencies for $Y$, not modeling $Y$. In other words, the appropriate task is to estimate $P(Y=1 | X)$ using a model such as the binary logistic regression model. The logistic model is a direct probability estimator. Details may be found here and here.

Once you have a validated probability model and a utility/cost/loss function you can generate optimum decisions. The probabilities help to trade off the consequences of wrong decisions.