Research Information System
in: Different Approaches to Clustering Analysis and Applications in Social Sciences, selay giray yakut,özlem ergüt, Editor, Holistence Publications, Çanakkale, pp.91-104, 2024
The deep-rooted past of Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman period
and home to many civilizations, can be read in its historical buildings.
The first step in the preservation of a city and the transfer of its unique
values to future generations is to protect its history. This is directly
related to the interest in buildings that have cultural heritage value. In
this study, the Maiden’s Tower, Galata Tower, Ortaköy Mosque, Hagia
Sophia and Sultanahmet Square, which are important elements of the
Istanbul skyline, are analyzed in terms of the interest shown by the
residents of Istanbul, taking into account the dates of their last visits,
as well as the interest of the inhabitants of Istanbul in visiting museums
and ancient cities/ceremonial sites. In summary, the aim of the study
is to group the people living in Istanbul according to their similarities
in terms of their interest in cultural assets and to determine the
profiles of the groups formed. For this purpose, cluster analysis, one
of the multivariate statistical analysis techniques, was applied to the
secondary data. Within the scope of the study, data collected by Istanbul
Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) were used. The study was conducted
with 2780 data with no missing observations and the scale levels of
the variables used were mixed. Since both categorical and quantitative
variables are in question and the sample size is quite high, Two Step
Cluster Analysis, one of the alternative cluster analysis approaches, was
preferred.
As a result of the study, it was seen that Istanbul residents were
divided into three clusters in terms of their interest in cultural assets.
Those in the first cluster are the group least interested in cultural
assets. The average age of those in this group is 44 and their last visit
to the selected historical buildings was approximately 10 years ago. The
majority of those in this cluster are female, married, primary school
graduates and retired. The last time they visited a museum and an
ancient city was about 15 years ago on average. The second and third
clusters are interested in cultural assets. Their level of interest is close
to each other; they visited the cultural heritage mentioned 1.5 years ago
on average. The average age of the second cluster is 35, and the majority
of them are male, single, university graduates and have regular jobs. The
average age of the third cluster is 32. Most of them are female, married,
high school graduates and housewives. The last time these two clusters
visited a museum and an ancient city was relatively recently, about 1.5-2
years ago on average.