# META-DES: A Dynamic Ensemble Selection Framework using Meta-Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.01270 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.01270/

## Key facts

- Cited by 21 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 30 Sep 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 21 of 21)

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- [Metacognitive Selective Ensemble for Mobile Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.31031/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Dynamic ensemble selection systems work by estimating the level of competence of each classifier from a pool of classifiers. Only the most competent ones are selected to classify a given test sample. This is achieved by defining a criterion to measure the level of competence of a base classifier, such as, its accuracy in local regions of the feature space around the query instance. However, using only one criterion about the behavior of a base classifier is not sufficient to accurately estimate its level of competence. In this paper, we present a novel dynamic ensemble selection framework using meta-learning. We propose five distinct sets of meta-features, each one corresponding to a different criterion to measure the level of competence of a classifier for the classification of input samples. The meta-features are extracted from the training data and used to train a meta-classifier to predict whether or not a base classifier is competent enough to classify an input instance. During the generalization phase, the meta-features are extracted from the query instance and passed down as input to the meta-classifier. The meta-classifier estimates, whether a base classifier is competent enough to be added to the ensemble. Experiments are conducted over several small sample size classification problems, i.e., problems with a high degree of uncertainty due to the lack of training data. Experimental results show the proposed meta-learning framework greatly improves classification accuracy when compared against current state-of-the-art dynamic ensemble selection techniques.