Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
Loading next page...
/lp/american-psychological-association/sample-size-in-factor-analysis-0c3WR1QHXO
References
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
- Publisher
- American Psychological Association
- Copyright
- Copyright © 1999 American Psychological Association
- ISSN
- 1082-989x
- eISSN
- 1939-1463
- DOI
- 10.1037/1082-989X.4.1.84
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
The factor analysis literature includes a range of recommendationsregarding the minimum sample size necessary to obtain factor solutions thatare adequately stable and that correspond closely to populationfactors. A fundamental misconception about this issue is that theminimum sample size, or the minimum ratio of sample size to the numberof variables, is invariant across studies. In fact, necessary sample size is dependent on several aspects of any givenstudy, including the level of communality of the variables and thelevel of overdetermination of the factors. The authors present atheoretical and mathematical framework that provides a basis forunderstanding and predicting these effects. The hypothesized effectsare verified by a sampling study using artificial data. Resultsdemonstrate the lack of validity of common rules of thumb and provide a basisfor establishing guidelines for sample size in factoranalysis.
Journal
Psychological Methods – American Psychological Association
Published: Mar 1, 1999