ABSTRACT
CFA of differences, covered in Chapter 8, allows one to analyze the ups-and-downs of a series of measures (first differences), the changes in these ups-and-downs (second differences), the changes in these changes (third differences), and even higher order differences. In addition, several kinds of such changes can be analyzed simultaneously. For example, one can ask whether both the first and the second differences of a series allow one to discriminate between a number of groups of respondents. In other words, the method of differences allows one to analyze various aspects of the shape of a series of measures.
