What is mean encording?

Answer 1

Mean encoding is a technique used in machine learning to convert categorical variables into numerical values by replacing each category with the mean of the target variable for that category. This approach helps capture the relationship between the categorical variable and the target, potentially improving model performance. However, it can lead to overfitting, especially with low-frequency categories, so it's essential to apply techniques like cross-validation or adding noise to mitigate this risk.