Keywords Running Head multiple comparison procedure Multiple Comparisons in Induction Algorithms David Jensen and Paul R. Cohen Experimental Knowledge Systems Laboratory Department of Computer Science Box 34610 LGRC University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003-4610 413-545-3613 A single mechanism is responsible for three pathologies of induction algorithms: attribute selection errors, overfitting, and oversearching. In each pathology, induction algorithms compare multiple items based on scores from an evaluation function and select the item with the maximum score. We call this a ( ). We analyze the statistical properties of and show how failure to adjust for these properties leads to the pathologies. We also discuss approaches that can control pathological behavior, including Bonferroni adjustment, randomization testing, and cross-validation. Inductive learning, overfitting, oversearching, attribute selection, hypothesis testing, parameter estimation Multiple Com...