Factor Analysis

This is a concise, easy to use, step-by-step guide for applied researchers conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using SPSS.

Statistical Factor Analysis and Related Methods Theory andApplications In bridging the gap between the mathematical andstatistical theory of factor analysis, this new work represents thefirst unified treatment of the theory and practice of factoranalysis and latent variable models.

Data can be extremely valuable if we are able to extract information from them. This is why multivariate data analysis is essential for business and science. This book offers an easy-to-understand introduction to the most relevant methods of multivariate data analysis. It is strictly application-oriented, requires little knowledge of mathematics and statistics, demonstrates the procedures with numerical examples and illustrates each method via a case study solved with IBM’s statistical software package SPSS.

Data can be extremely valuable if we are able to extract information from them. This is why multivariate data analysis is essential for business and science. This book offers an easy-to-understand introduction to the most relevant methods of multivariate data analysis. It is strictly application-oriented, requires little knowledge of mathematics and statistics, demonstrates the procedures with numerical examples and illustrates each method via a case study solved with IBM’s statistical software package SPSS.

Univariate statistical analysis is concerned with techniques for the analysis of a single random variable. This book is about applied multivariate analysis. It was written to p- vide students and researchers with an introduction to statistical techniques for the ana- sis of continuous quantitative measurements on several random variables simultaneously. While quantitative measurements may be obtained from any population, the material in this text is primarily concerned with techniques useful for the analysis of continuous obser- tions from multivariate normal populations with linear structure. While several multivariate methods are extensions of univariate procedures, a unique feature of multivariate data an- ysis techniques is their ability to control experimental error at an exact nominal level and to provide information on the covariance structure of the data. These features tend to enhance statistical inference, making multivariate data analysis superior to univariate analysis. While in a previous edition of my textbook on multivariate analysis, I tried to precede a multivariate method with a corresponding univariate procedure when applicable, I have not taken this approach here. Instead, it is assumed that the reader has taken basic courses in multiple linear regression, analysis of variance, and experimental design. While students may be familiar with vector spaces and matrices, important results essential to multivariate analysis are reviewed in Chapter 2. I have avoided the use of calculus in this text.

Principal component analysis is central to the study of multivariate data. Although one of the earliest multivariate techniques, it continues to be the subject of much research, ranging from new model-based approaches to algorithmic ideas from neural networks. It is extremely versatile, with applications in many disciplines.
The first edition of this book was the first comprehensive text written solely on principal component analysis. The second edition updates and substantially expands the original version, and is once again the definitive text on the subject. It includes core material, current research and a wide range of applications. Its length is nearly double that of the first edition.