Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a widely used but poorly understood statistical procedure. This paper described EFA and its methodological variations. Then, key methodological variations were used to evaluate EFA usage over a 10-year period in five leading developmental disabilities journals. Sixty-six studies were located and evaluated on multiple procedural variations. Only 35\% (n = 23) of studies used EFA; principal components analysis was the model used most often (n = 40, 61\%). Orthogonal rotation was used most often (n = 39, 59\%). A large portion of studies ran analyses with a subject: item ratio larger than 5:1 (n = 49, 74\%). Most researchers employed multiple criteria for retaining factors (n = 45, 68\%). Overall, results indicated that published recommendations and guidelines for the use of EFA are largely ignored.
%0 Journal Article
%1 Norris2010
%A Norris, Megan
%A Lecavalier, Luc
%D 2010
%J Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
%K exploratory_factor_analysis multivariate_statisitics
%N 1
%P 8--20
%R 10.1007/s10803-009-0816-2
%T Evaluating the Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Developmental Disability Psychological Research
%U https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0816-2
%V 40
%X Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a widely used but poorly understood statistical procedure. This paper described EFA and its methodological variations. Then, key methodological variations were used to evaluate EFA usage over a 10-year period in five leading developmental disabilities journals. Sixty-six studies were located and evaluated on multiple procedural variations. Only 35\% (n = 23) of studies used EFA; principal components analysis was the model used most often (n = 40, 61\%). Orthogonal rotation was used most often (n = 39, 59\%). A large portion of studies ran analyses with a subject: item ratio larger than 5:1 (n = 49, 74\%). Most researchers employed multiple criteria for retaining factors (n = 45, 68\%). Overall, results indicated that published recommendations and guidelines for the use of EFA are largely ignored.
@article{Norris2010,
abstract = {Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a widely used but poorly understood statistical procedure. This paper described EFA and its methodological variations. Then, key methodological variations were used to evaluate EFA usage over a 10-year period in five leading developmental disabilities journals. Sixty-six studies were located and evaluated on multiple procedural variations. Only 35{\%} (n = 23) of studies used EFA; principal components analysis was the model used most often (n = 40, 61{\%}). Orthogonal rotation was used most often (n = 39, 59{\%}). A large portion of studies ran analyses with a subject: item ratio larger than 5:1 (n = 49, 74{\%}). Most researchers employed multiple criteria for retaining factors (n = 45, 68{\%}). Overall, results indicated that published recommendations and guidelines for the use of EFA are largely ignored.},
added-at = {2020-02-03T13:01:32.000+0100},
author = {Norris, Megan and Lecavalier, Luc},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/21d00de86f441e193b0e4576f2ca7eea7/duerrschnabel},
day = 01,
doi = {10.1007/s10803-009-0816-2},
interhash = {de4d492b5bd34c86caeef0bd35276445},
intrahash = {1d00de86f441e193b0e4576f2ca7eea7},
issn = {1573-3432},
journal = {Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders},
keywords = {exploratory_factor_analysis multivariate_statisitics},
month = jan,
number = 1,
pages = {8--20},
timestamp = {2020-02-03T13:01:32.000+0100},
title = {Evaluating the Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Developmental Disability Psychological Research},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0816-2},
volume = 40,
year = 2010
}