leave-out Vs KFold

AI Maverick
4 min readMar 21, 2023

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In machine learning, a “splitter” refers to a tool or technique that is used to split a dataset into separate subsets for training and testing a machine learning model.

Splitting a dataset is a common practice in machine learning to avoid overfitting the model to the training data and to evaluate the model’s generalization performance on unseen data. Typically, a random split is made with a fixed ratio (e.g., 80% for training and 20% for testing) or a predefined number of folds (k) for cross-validation.

In this article, we review the difference between the leave-out and Kfold cross-validation in machine learning.

leave-out

In machine learning, “leave-out” refers to a method of model evaluation where a portion of the available data is set aside or “left out” from the training process and reserved for testing the model’s performance.

This method is often used to estimate how well a model will generalize to new, unseen data. The training data is used to train the model, and the remaining data is used to evaluate the model’s performance on data it has not seen before. This can help to prevent overfitting, which occurs when a model becomes too closely tuned to the training data and performs poorly on new data.

The “leave-out” method can be implemented in several ways, such as splitting the data into training and testing sets, using cross-validation techniques, or using a holdout set. The choice of method will depend on the size and nature of the dataset, as well as the specific requirements of the machine learning problem at hand.

Fold in the shadow and bone series

k-fold cross-validation

In machine learning, “k-fold cross-validation” is a technique used to evaluate the performance of a machine learning model on a dataset.

K-fold cross-validation involves dividing the dataset into k equal-sized partitions, or “folds”. The model is trained k times, with each fold serving as the testing data once and the remaining k-1 folds used as the training data. The performance metrics, such as accuracy or error, are then averaged over the k iterations to provide a more accurate estimate of the model’s performance.

K-fold cross-validation is a popular technique because it allows for a more reliable estimate of the model’s performance by using all of the available data for both training and testing. It also helps to prevent overfitting, as the model is tested on data it has not seen before during each fold.

Typically, values of k range from 5 to 10, with 10 being the most commonly used value. However, the choice of k depends on the size and nature of the dataset, as well as the specific requirements of the machine learning problem at hand.

KFold Vs Leave-out

Both “leave-out” and “k-fold cross-validation” are techniques used in machine learning to evaluate the performance of a model on a dataset. However, there are some key differences between the two:

  1. Methodology: The leave-out technique involves splitting the dataset into two subsets: a training set and a testing set. The model is trained on the training set and evaluated on the testing set. In contrast, k-fold cross-validation involves dividing the dataset into k equal-sized folds. The model is trained k times, with each fold serving as the testing data once and the remaining k-1 folds used as the training data.
  2. Sample size: The leave-out technique uses only one testing set and one training set, whereas k-fold cross-validation uses k testing sets and k training sets. This means that k-fold cross-validation provides a more reliable estimate of the model’s performance because it uses more data for testing and training.
  3. Bias-variance tradeoff: The leave-out technique can have a higher variance in its performance estimate because the testing set is smaller, and therefore, it may not be representative of the entire dataset. On the other hand, k-fold cross-validation provides a more accurate estimate of the model’s performance because it uses more data for both testing and training.
  4. Computational complexity: k-fold cross-validation can be more computationally expensive than the leave-out technique because it requires the model to be trained and evaluated k times.

Conclusion

In summary, the leave-out technique is simpler and computationally less expensive but may provide a less reliable estimate of the model’s performance due to the smaller testing set. In contrast, k-fold cross-validation is more reliable but requires more computational resources. The choice of which technique to use depends on the specific requirements of the machine learning problem at hand.

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