A First Course in Factor Analysis

✍ Scribed by Andrew L. Comrey, Howard B. Lee

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 443
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The goal of this book is to foster a basic understanding of factor analytic techniques so that readers can use them in their own research and critically evaluate their use by other researchers. Both the underlying theory and correct application are emphasized. The theory is presented through the mathematical basis of the most common factor analytic models and several methods used in factor analysis. On the application side, considerable attention is given to the extraction problem, the rotation problem, and the interpretation of factor analytic results. Hence, readers are given a background of understanding in the the theory underlying factor analysis and then taken through the steps in executing a proper analysis -- from the initial problem of design through choice of correlation coefficient, factor extraction, factor rotation, factor interpretation, and writing up results.

This revised edition includes introductions to newer methods -- such as confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling -- that have revolutionized factor analysis in recent years. To help remove some of the mystery underlying these newer, more complex methods, the introductory examples utilize EQS and LISREL. Updated material relating to the validation of the Comrey Personality Scales also has been added. Finally, program disks for running factor analyses on either an IBM-compatible PC or a mainframe with FORTRAN capabilities are available. The intended audience for this volume includes talented but mathematically unsophisticated advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and research workers seeking to acquire a basic understanding of the principles supporting factor analysis.

Disks are available in 5.25" and 3.5" formats for both mainframe programs written in Fortran and IBM PCs and compatibles running a math co-processor.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
1. Introduction
1.1 FACTOR ANALYTIC GOALS AND PROCEDURES
1.2 SOURCES OF DISAGREEMENT IN FACTOR ANALYTIC RESEARCH
1.3 PLAN OF THE BOOK
2. The Factor Analytic Model
2.1 THE SPECIFICATION EQUATION
2.2 THE FUNDAMENTAL EQUATION OF FACTOR ANALYSIS
2.3 FACTOR EXTRACTION
2.4 FACTOR ROTATION
2.5 GEOMETRIC REPRESENTATION OF THE FACTOR MODEL
3. Factor Extraction by the Centroid Method
3.1 EQUATIONS FOR THE CENTROID METHOD
3.2 A FOUR-VARIABLE, TWO-FACTOR EXAMPLE
3.3 A 12-VARIABLE, FOUR-FACTOR EXAMPLE
3.4 ITERATING THE COMMUNALITIES
4. Methods of Factor Extraction
4.1 THE PRINCIPAL FACTOR METHOD
4.2 THE MINIMUM RESIDUAL METHOD
4.3 THE COMMUNALITIES
4.4 DETERMINING HOW MANY FACTORS TO EXTRACT
4.5 OTHER METHODS OF FACTOR EXTRACTION
5. Orthogonal Hand Rotations
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 ORTHOGONAL ROTATION OF THE 12-VARIABLE PROBLEM
6. Oblique Hand Rotations
6.1 OBLIQUE FACTOR AXES
6.2 REFERENCE VECTOR STRUCTURE
6.3 OBLIQUE ROTATION OF THE 12-VARIABLE PROBLEM
6.4 OBTAINING THE ADDITIONAL MATRICES ., S, AND P
6.5 HAND ROTATED SOLUTIONS VERSUS ANALYTIC SOLUTIONS
7. Simple Structure and Other Rotational Criteria
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 ALTERNATIVE CRITERIA FOR ROTATION
7.3 ANALYTIC METHODS OF ROTATION
7.4 THE KAISER VARIMAX METHOD
7.5 THE TANDEM CRITERIA METHOD
7.6 ONE STRATEGY FOR FACTOR ANALYTIC WORK
8. Planning the Standard Design Factor Analysis
8.1 SOME PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
8.2 DATA VARIABLES
8.3 CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS
8.4 COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF FACTOR ANALYSIS
9. Alternate Designs in Factor Analysis
9.1 Q-TECHNIQUE
9.2 P-TECHNIQUE
9.3 LESSER KNOWN DESIGNS
10. Interpretation and Application of Factor Analytic Results
10.1 INTRODUCTION
10.2 FACTOR ANALYSIS AND MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS
10.3 FACTOR SCORES
10.4 REPORTING A FACTOR ANALYTIC STUDY
10.5 APPLICATIONS OF FACTOR ANALYSIS
11. Development of the Comrey Personality Scales: An Example of the Use of Factor Analysis
11.1 STUDIES OF MMPI ITEMS
11.2 THE FHID APPROACH
11.3 FACTOR ANALYTIC STUDIES TO DEVELOP THE CPS TAXONOMY
11.4 FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE FHIDS IN THE CPS
11.5 VALIDATION OF A FACTOR ANALYTIC TAXONOMY
11.6 VALIDITY OF THE FACTORS MAKING UP THE CPS TAXONOMY
12. Confirmatory Factor Analysis
12.1 SOME MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND
12.2 APPLYING CFA TO THE 12-VARIABLE SAMPLE PROBLEM
12.3 ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE MATRICES
12.4 ESTIMATING THE UNKNOWN CFA PARAMETERS
12.5 GOODNESS OF FIT
12.6 A TWO-SAMPLE EXAMPLE
12.7 A SECOND-ORDER FACTOR ANALYSIS
12.8 OTHER CFA APPROACHES
13. Structural Equation Models
13.1 REGRESSION MODELS
13.2 MEASURED VARIABLE MODELS
13.3 FACTOR ANALYTIC MODELS
13.4 UNRESTRICTED LATENT-VARIABLE MODELS
13.5 STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS AS “CAUSAL” MODELS
13.6 ADVANCED MODELS
13.7 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EQS AND LISREL NOTATION
14. Computer Programs
14.1 PROGRAM 1. SCORING
14.2 PROGRAM 2. REGRESSION PLOT
14.3 PROGRAM 3. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION
14.4 PROGRAM 4. SCALED SCORE EQUIVALENTS
14.5 PROGRAM 5. FACTOR ANALYSIS
14.6 PROGRAM 6. TANDEM CRITERIA
14.7 PROGRAM 7. VARIMAX ROTATION
14.8 PROGRAM 8. HAND ROTATION
14.9 PROGRAM 9. ANALYTIC OBLIQUE ROTATION
14.10 PROGRAM 10. MULTIPLE REGRESSION
14.11 PROGRAM 11. CENTROID FACTOR ANALYSIS
14.12 PROGRAM 12. OUTLIER DETECTION
14.13 COMMERCIAL COMPUTER PACKAGES
References
Author Index
Subject Index