ABSTRACT

Although we have no data to support this claim, our experience suggests that exploratory factor analysis* may be second only to structural equation modeling in the types and numbers of questionable practices conducted in its name. In this chapter we focus on the use of exploratory, rather than confirmatory, factor analysis. Although the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis is somewhat murky, we operationalize this by simply stating that by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) we mean the class of factor analytic procedures available through such commonly available packages as SAS and SPSS. We reserve the term confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the procedures available through structural equation modeling programs. CFA is discussed in chapter 7 of this volume.